Posted on

Toxins– Are They Making Your Health Issues Worse?

I recently attended a week long detox summit. It was very informative and I learned a lot. I’m torn between two view points. On one hand I don’t think many people realize the toxin overload that we are presented with on a daily basis and people should be aware. On the other, I don’t want people to live in fear of toxins or let it add another stressor to your life.

With that being said. I do believe we should be aware of the more common toxins we come into contact with everyday and ways we can help to minimize the toxin overload.

There is so much that could be covered here so I’m just going to introduce you to some that I believe could be an easy solution to limit exposure in your daily life. So before we dive in take a deep breath, realize that our life is a learning experience, if something doesn’t resinate with you that is okay! If it does resinate with you then work on making a switch and over time the more changes you make the healthier you and your family will be.

There are toxins all around us. We have pesticides in our foods, toxins and heavy metals in our beauty products, vaccines have heavy metals and toxins in them, our lifestyle habits introduce toxins, there are environmental pollutants, and toxins in our water supply. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency everyone has 700 chemicals on average in our bodies and babies average around 70. GASP!

There are 80,000 to 85,000 chemicals approved for use in the United States, but only 200 of these have been subjected to testing.

Scientific evidence shows that food additives, pesticides, drugs, and other pollutants can remain stored in the body long after exposure. Your body is going to do everything it can to get those toxins out of the blood stream and away from our vital organs. Because of this the toxins that are not excreted build up in our tissues and can do ongoing damage. This is why I’m a huge fan of detoxification (protocols and Infrared Sauna… More on this later).

Our bodies were designed with a defense mechanism to help filter out toxins. However, if it becomes bombarded with toxin exposures it may not be able to keep up. While we cannot avoid all the toxins and chemicals we can learn to be proactive and limit exposure in areas that we can control. We can choose what we expose our bodies to topically, what we drink, how we clean our environment, and what we consume.

Pesticides

Several billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides are sprayed in the U.S. each year on our crops (1). When ingested it causes all kinds of disruption in our bodies including leaky gut and inflammation. Gut dysbiosis is believed to play a major role in autoimmune conditions. Pesticides being sprayed on our crops infects the soil and also contaminates the air and water supply. Common pesticides may contain lead, copper, arsenic, and other metals.

Just recently the EPA approved the use of sulfoxaflor on crops such as citrus, corn, soybean, strawberries, pineapples, and pumpkins. This insecticide is considered highly toxic to bees (2).

Science has shown that the more pesticides used on our crops, the more resistant the pests have become.

This is where organic food choices become important. In 2017 the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that 70% of our produce was contaminated with over 178 different pesticides and residues, even after the produce was cleaned and peeled. When trying to purchase Organic food at the very least you should consider the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen. The clean 15 when tested only had a max of four pesticides detected. The Dirty Dozen are foods you should purchase organically because of their high levels of contamination.

Dirty Dozen

StrawberriesPears
SpinachCherries
NectarinesTomatoes
ApplesBell Peppers
PeachesPotatoes
CeleryGrapes

Clean 15

Sweet CornMangoes
AvocadosEggplant
PineapplesHoneydew Melon
CabbageKiwis
OnionsCantaloupe
Frozen Sweet PeasCauliflower
PapayasGrapefruit
Asparagus

Heavy Metals

When you think about heavy metals one source you probably don’t consider is foods you ingest. Mercury, aluminum, lead, nickel, and arsenic are common metals that can be found in food, drinks, air, fillings in your teeth, household cleaners, and drinking water. Heavy metals cause oxidative stress and damage your mitochondria. It can compete for your minerals, co-factors, disrupt your hormones, and deplete antioxidant levels.

Cleaning Products

Have you ever picked up a cleaning product and looked at the list of ingredients that you can hardly pronounce? Many of these chemicals can cause short and long term health issues. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that the air inside our homes is two to five times more polluted than the outside air! Toxins are produced from cleaning products, air fresheners, paints, carpets, furniture, smoke from cooking, dirty air filters, and many other sources. Did you know there is such a thing as sick building syndrome? It can be found in office buildings and hotels where the same air is recirculated over and over again. This can be why when you stay in a hotel you may have crazy symptoms that appear or you just feel generally worse. I recently heard someone mention that you could not pay him enough money to move into a newly built home due to all the toxins used in building supplies.

Essential oils can rid the air of toxins. Certain essential oils have an antimicrobial property and can rid toxins with an hour. When riding toxins in your home start small. Replace one thing at a time. While thinking of replacing everything can seem overwhelming making small changes and swapping essential oils for your cleaning products can actually save you money!

Personal Care Products

I really started reading the labels on personal care products four years ago when I started battling eczema. I could not believe the long list of ingredients in a bottle of lotion. Ingredients that I even with a chemist background had trouble pronouncing. Your skin is the largest organ of the body. It is essentially a big sponge and is absorbing the chemicals in the products we put onto our skin. There are studies linking toxins and synthetics in personal care products to chronic diseases, reproductive toxicity, autoimmunity, allergies, and even cancer.

The average woman uses around ten to twelve products daily on her skin, this includes 126 ingredients, and of those 90% have never been researched for safety by any accountable institution. A woman can absorb five pounds of toxins per year just from her beauty- routine!

Parabans and phthalates, which are banned in many countries, are used in fragrances, hair-care, and cosmetics. The only mandates when it comes to personal products are that drug like ingredients be listed as “Active Ingredients.” These toxins have even shown up in breast milk.

It is hard to know what ingredients are safe and which are not when you look at a personal care products. The best recommendation I can make is to make as many products as you can at home. Body butter is extremely easy to make and moisturizes in my opinion better then any store bought lotion.

Xenoestrogens mimic estrogen in the body and cause estrogen dominance, disrupt your endocrine system, and cause other bodily issues. In men it can cause infertility, genital deformities, and even cancer.

Most conventional deodorants and antiperspirants can build up toxins and cause hormonal imbalance. I use to hear the horror stories about how natural deodorants left you smelly so I was terrified to make the switch! However, toxins are usually expelled with sweating so while antiperspirants cover the smell they block the bodies ability to expel harmful substances which lead to an increase in toxicity. Here’s what is commonly found in deodorants.

  • Aluminum/potassium alum – An active ingredient often used to plug the sweat glands, aluminum is suspected of causing hormonal imbalances by mimicking estrogen in the body. It is also connected to neurotoxicity and respiratory complaints. (3, 4, 5)
  • Parabens – Parabens typically function as preservatives, preventing the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. Parabens have also been linked to hormonal imbalances, as they can mimic estrogen.
  • Phthalates – Phthalates are used to keep a product flexible. However, again they can mimic estrogen and add to the toxic load on our bodies. (6)
  • Sodium lauryl sulfate – This ingredient is added as an emulsifier, but, same as with the previous products, is a suspected carcinogen and also hinders the body’s detoxification efforts. (7)
  • Fragrance/parfum – Unfortunately, the problems outweigh the benefits when we consider that many harmful chemicals can be included under the listing of fragrance or parfum in product ingredient lists, resulting in hormone imbalance and toxicity.

I could talk all day about dryer sheets. Dryer sheets contain over 150 chemicals! YIKES! I made an easy switch to dryer balls. They are made of wool and I add some drops of essential oils and toss them in. They are reusable and cost less than fifteen dollars.

Water

Two very common chemicals found in our drinking water is fluoride and chloride. While there is modest evidence that Fluoride may be useful for preventing cavities it is not great when ingested. High fluoride levels have been linked to mottled teeth (brown teeth). Over the past two decades many communities in Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand have stopped fluoridating their water supplies and in Israel the Minister for Health announced the end of mandatory water fluoridation in 2013 (8).

There has never been a fluoride deficiency disease documented. A review by the National Research Council in the USA for the Environmental Protection Agency which examined toxicological and physiological effects of fluoride on water. This review identified a number of potential and established adverse effects including cognitive impairment, hypothyroidism, dental and skeletal fluorosis, enzyme and electrolyte derangement, and cancer (9).

Fluoride is a known enzyme disruptor. It can compete with magnesium and calcium and derange bone formation and resorptions processes. This can lead to calcium deficiency, magnesium deficiency, hyperkalemia, and ventricular fibrillation (10).

Fluoride is not just found in our water supply . It can be in found in the manufacturing of ceramics, pesticides, aerosol propellants, refrigerants, glassware, and Teflon cookware.

Chlorine toxicity is associated with fatigue, heart disease, cancer, renal, and thyroid issues. Heavy metals are also commonly found in water.

Are you starting to see how avoidance is the best form of detoxification we can implement?!?! Or why I believe detoxification should be a lifestyle. While it may seen overwhelming at first. Hang in there! I’ll share some simple DIY toxin free cleaning solutions soon!

Posted on

Essential Oils Of The Bible Class

Join us next Monday, January 28th at 6:30pm for Essential Oils Of The Bible class! We will cover different essential oils that were used in the Bible and how you can apply them to your life today!

One oil we will cover is Hyssop. Hyssop is mentioned in Psalms 51, “Thou shall purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean.” Hyssop is known as the purifier and cleanser. The Romans believed it helped protect them again plagues.

Join us and learn how Hyssop can help you!

Monday, January 28th at 6:30pm
721 Long Point Rd, Ste 403
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464


Posted on

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain in many individuals. There is usually severe pain with the first few steps taken in the morning.  It can resolve on its own, however, the faster you start treatment the quicker it can resolve. Generally, it will resolve within six to eighteen months (1).  The good news is that 90% of individuals recover with non-surgical treatments. There are treatment options available to help heal faster!

Plantar fasciitis is a collagen degeneration of the plantar fascia. Repetitive microtears in the plantar fascia cause the degeneration. The plantar fascia runs along the bottom of your foot. This fascia provides support for the arch in your foot and shock absorption. Individuals with flat feet, fallen arches, and even high arches are at increased risk for developing plantar fasciitis. Since the feet are the base of the bodies support, plantar fasciitis can lead to an altered gait pattern and places the rest of the body in misalignment. This altered gait can affect the hips, pelvis, back, and neck. Other risk factors include tight/weak calf muscles, Achilles tendon, and intrinsic foot muscles.

In athletes, plantar fasciitis is generally caused by overuse. The constant, repetitive microtrauma exceeds the body’s ability to heal. It can also result in an increase in weight-bearing activities or structural insufficiencies as mentioned above.

Treatment

There are treatment options available. Getting adjusted is very important. Chiropractors can evaluate your posture/gait and give corrective exercises to help rehab the weak areas. By getting adjustments you are correcting the biomechanical risk factors and decreasing the stress on the feet. Successful treatments must focus not only on pain relief, but must also address the underlying causes such as: muscular imbalances; biomechanical deficiencies; improper sporting techniques; and improper conditioning, to name a few.

Orthotics are also important. By supporting the arches in the foot orthotics will place the foot in an anatomically correct position, relaxing the stress on the plantar fascia and calf muscles. I personally wear and recommend Foot-levelers. This type of orthotic uses a 3D scanner and makes a custom orthotic based on your scan. They make a moveable orthotic that builds up the arch support where you need it. I wear mine every day and they are life changing!

K-laser therapy is a non-drug, non-invasive option for healing. A study in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery demonstrated promising results using laser therapy. Patients with chronic plantar fasciitis were split into two groups. One group was treated with low-level 635 nm lasers and the other patients received placebo treatments. Patients received treatments twice a week over a three-week period. At the final follow-up visit, the laser patients demonstrated a mean improvement in heel pain with a Visual Analog Scale score of 29.6 in comparison with a mean improvement of 5.4 in the placebo patients (2). In addition to being non-invasive, low-level laser therapy is a form of regenerative medicine as the modality’s mitochondrial stimulation initiates a low-grade inflammatory cascade of events that can stimulate revascularization of the thickened fascial tissue, according to study co-author Kerry Zang, DPM, FACFAS.

Supplements

Supplements can also be added to help facilitate healing. Magnesium has a lot of beneficial use in the body including: the production of glutathione (an antioxidant); improving nerve function; relaxing tight muscles; and decreasing anxiety. Soaking in a warm Epsom salt bath is a great way to get magnesium to relieve pain and inflammation.

Proteolytic enzymes help decrease inflammation and swelling. Proteolytic enzymes actually reduce healing times by blocking metabolites that cause swelling. For many individuals reducing inflammation helps reduce the pain they feel from plantar fasciitis.

Colostrum comes from the breast of humans and other mammals after giving birth, before true milk appears. Colostrum contains proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, growth hormone, and specific proteins that can fight diseases such as bacteria and viruses. Athletes use bovine colostrum to improve athletic performance. Medically it is used to boost the immune system, heal injuries, repair nervous system damage, improve mood, slowing/reversing aging, kill bacteria, and fungus. The source of colostrum is important! The colostrum needs to come from organic cows on organic farms, eat natural grass, and never receive any antibiotics.

Stretch/Strengthen

Stretching/Strengthening the muscles in your legs (calf and Achilles tendon) and intrinsic foot muscles are very important! Even with treatment, you can perform stretching/strengthening exercises at home to help with healing. After stretching, one thing I like to do is massage the plantar fascia with essential oils such as lavender or peppermint.

 

Posted on

Increase Your Vitality And Add Years To Your Life!

 

 

Posture can be related to chronic pain, chronic disease, make you look, and feel old.

The Journal of American Geriatric Society published a study that found, “Older men and woman with a hyperkyphotic posture have higher mortality rates.” So what does this mean? Having bad posture increases your risk of death by almost 1.5 times. This research found that the increased death rate was due to atherosclerosis.

Bad-Posture-and-Death

Poor posture leads to extra wear and tear on your joints and ligaments, tension headaches, breathing issues, chronic low back, shoulder, neck, and/or wrist pain.

So what leads to poor posture? Well, you use 640 muscles to balance! If you have a weakness or imbalance it may affect your posture. If you have ever injured yourself and did not properly rehab this could lead to an altered gait pattern. Essentially that old injury could be affecting your posture today!

Do you have “text neck?” or “tech neck?” This type of posture affects many many individuals. We are such a technology-driven society that it is creating poor posture habits.

BlogBody_ART_2

This picture is a great visual to show how heavy your head becomes when you increase the angle. Do you see why you might have neck pain now?

BlogBody_ART_1

For every inch forward your head moves it increases the weight of your head by 10 pounds! It is important to be mindful of how our posture is when using our phones, tablets, and even computers. This can help prevent future problems/pain!

What happens to our muscles if we do not take breaks to stretch/strengthen our posture?

upper cross

This picture shows which muscles become weak and which muscles tighten. This imbalance creates joint dysfunction at the base of the skull, down the neck, into the upper back, and shoulders. “Tech Neck” causes imbalances that affect your entire musculoskeletal system.

According to the CDC low back pain was the most common pain complaint reported by patients in 2010. In the US 6 million people are dealing with chronic back pain. Opioids have been shown to only be effective for 2 weeks when treating low back pain. 89% of Primary Care Physicians consider biomechanical risk factors like posture to be the single most important short-term trigger for sudden onset of low back pain, AKA your posture!

Sitting for more than 12 hours a day puts you at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, life-threatening falls, respiratory problems, and cardiopulmonary problems.

Here are three exercises you can implement to start strengthening your posture.

  1. Stork- 1 minute a day can help with strength and postural balance
  2. Ball circles- this is great to strengthen your core! You want to make sure your upper body and knees remain still. Only move your pelvis in small circles
  3. Bruegger’s- this one can be performed sitting, standing, with or without a theraband. Hold for 3 seconds, come back to starting and repeat for 2 minutes.

It is important to move/stretch every hour! Studies have shown that sitting motionless reduces blood flow to the legs, increases the risk for atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaques in the arteries). Standing up and walking around for five minutes every hour during the workday could lift your mood, combat lethargy without reducing focus and attention. Frequent brief walking breaks are more effective than a single long walk before work. Sitting for more than eight hours places you at a greater risk factor for diabetes, depress, and obesity.

Your goal should be to get up and move every 30 minutes for at least 5 minutes. Set a timer to remind you throughout your day. You can stretch, strengthen, walk, or complete a 4-minute nitric oxide dump! The nitric oxide dump was created by Dr. Zach Bush. Nitric oxide dilates the blood vessels, reduces blood pressure, improves immune function, decreases the viscosity of blood (stickiness and platelet aggregation), increases lean muscle mass and it only takes 4 minutes. You try to complete it 2-3 times a day. Click Here to learn how to perform the Nitric Oxide Dump!

Getting adjusted is an important factor in strengthening your posture. Adjustments help reduce inflammation, boost the immune system, enhance pulmonary function, decrease mental and oxidative stress, relieves muscle tension, and can naturally increase energy levels. We can also evaluate your posture and give specific rehab exercises tailored to you.

Losing 1 inch in height makes you 1.45 times more at risk of dying. Regular chiropractic visits and strengthening your posture, especially the core and the muscles along the spine can help prevent a loss in height.

I like to think about posture like a savings account. Most people would agree that having a savings account is a great investment in your future. If we all had the money we would deposit into that account daily. Your posture is a savings account. You can deposit a little bit into it each day and live a vibrant life, healthy life! Invest in your posture each day and maybe when you are 98 you will be skiing like this man!

 

Posted on

Fasting! Is it dangerous? Will you lose muscle? Will you go into starvation?

Continuing with the previous post on fasting we are going to dive a little deeper. I also completed a Facebook live video covering this information so if you missed it be sure to check it out https://www.facebook.com/DrSandraBuffkin/videos/1882594955373607/ 

Two weeks ago my sister and I completed a 3-day water fast. The longest fast I’ve completed is 7-days and that was back in December. I knew fasting had many health benefits and was very scriptural. Jesus and Moses fasted for 40 days. After my fast when I was researching more about the health benefits I came across Dr. Jason Fung and his book The Complete Guide To Fasting. I wanted this book. While I was sharing the information with the other doctors at work one actually had his book! So that has been my reading this week and his book is awesome! I highly highly recommend everyone should read it!

Dr. Fung is a nephrologist who has treated many diabetic patients. In all his years of formal medical training, he reports only having 4 hours of lectures on nutrition. So when he started learning about nutrition he was starting from ground zero. The Atkins diet was popular then and he thought, like most physicians, that everyone on Atkins would clog up their arteries and eventually pay the price. However, when research started coming out in prestigious medical journals that Randomized control trials were all showing the same results; the low-carb diet was significantly better for weight loss than the low-fat diet. It also showed that important risk factors for cardiovascular disease- including cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure were also improving. This is where Dr. Fung started looking into diet and now has a clinic that focuses on nutrition and fasting with obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.

A constant increase in insulin can cause insulin resistance. It is just like alcohol, the more you drink the more you increase your tolerance and need more. Excessive insulin causes weight gain leading to obesity. How can we address this problem naturally? Through diet and fasting! A diet lower in carbohydrates, specifically refined carbohydrates, helps reduce insulin levels.

Jimmy Moore is featured in this book. Jimmy weighed 410lbs and has lost 180lbs. He has come off his prescription medication for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and respiratory problems by addressing his diet and fasting. He is hilarious in this book as he describes his success and failures with fasting. He eventually completed a 17-day fast and his total cholesterol dropped 100 points! His risk factor to developing cardiovascular disease went from being extremely high to normal.

Jimmy later completed a one month fast. This time he had a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry or DXA scan completed before so he could monitor if he lost any muscle mass during this fast. At the end of the fast, he had another DXA scan that showed he lost 10 lbs of body fat and 10 lbs of lean tissue. Dr. Fung believes the lean tissue lost was not muscle but rather fat around the organs, so a really good thing! He actually gained muscles in his arms and legs.

So what happens when we eat? The short version is that the increase in energy (food) triggers insulin, so we get an increase in insulin levels. Insulin has two functions

  1. Allows the body to immediately start using food as energy
  2. Helps store excess energy
    1. Excess energy is first stored in the liver as glycogen
    2. Once glycogen stores are full then it will store as fat

When we fast insulin decreases. This signals the body to burn stored energy. Glycogen stored in the liver will be broke down first. This will give energy for approximately 24 hours. Then the body starts breaking down stored body fat for energy.

During days 2-3 of a fast, you are in ketosis. This means instead of using glucose (sugar) as a fuel source you are now using fat for energy-producing ketones.

A 4-day fast actually increases resting energy expenditure by 12%, meaning it increases your metabolism.

During day 5 growth hormone increases. Growth hormone helps maintain muscle mass and lean tissue.

Research shows that while fasting electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, all remain stable.

Why is an increase in Growth Hormone a big deal?

Growth hormone is made by the pituitary gland. It helps in the normal development of children and adolescence. Growth hormone starts to decline after puberty. A decrease in growth hormone leads to an increase in body fat, a decrease in muscle mass, and a decrease in bone density (osteopenia). Growth hormone also has major anti-aging benefits!

So why can you not just take growth hormone instead of fasting? Exogenous growth hormone (meaning your body doesn’t make it) has actually shown to increase blood sugar levels, increase blood pressure, and possibly lead to an increase in heart problems. So fasting to reap the benefits is a much safer way to increase growth hormone levels naturally.

When we continuously eat, growth hormone gets suppressed. So eating three meals a day means you produce almost no growth hormone. Overeating suppresses growth hormone production by 80%.

By fasting for 5-days growth hormone more than doubles! Researchers found that a 40-day fast had a 1,250% increase in growth hormone. This is great for everyone but particularly beneficial for athletes. This increase in growth hormone will help them maintain lean muscle mass and improve recovery time from intense workouts.

Dr. Seyfried recommends completing a 7-10 day water fast annually as a tool to prevent cancer.

There are no side effects to fasting but so many benefits including; decreased glucose levels, decreased blood pressure, decreased the risk of cancer, anti-aging benefits, decrease in inflammation. Fasting does not make you tired it actually has the opposite effect and gives a boost of energy. Fasting does not burn muscle but it does burn fat!

It is important to maintain a balanced nutritionally rich diet after fasting. Fasting is awesome and I think everyone should incorporate it into their health regimen but you have to continue after the fast with a healthy diet. What does that mean?

  • Avoid processed foods (isle of the grocery store)
  • Avoid sugar (isle of the grocery store)
  • Avoid refined grains  (isle of the grocery store— are you starting to see a pattern?)
  • Add natural fats
  • Balance feeding with fasting.

I’ve been intermittent fasting for over a year now. I try to stop eating around 7pm each night. In the mornings I have my bulletproof coffee and don’t eat until lunch sometime between 1-3pm. This gives my digestive tract a break from constantly digesting food and the benefits of intermittent fasting. The last fast I completed I had lemon water all day, 1 cup of green tea, and bone broth when I felt hungry. I generally add a kombucha in there however, I went without it this time. There is no wrong way to fast. I challenge you to complete a fast. If you have tried a fast before let me know how it went for you!

Posted on

Chicken Pot Pie- Grain Free

Boy oh boy do I have ya’ll a comfort food recipe! I tried this recipe out this weekend and I have to say it is probably my favorite one that I’ve tried in a while! You get amazing vegetables which you can change up with all the comfort food taste! What is even better is it makes a great meal prepping option and taste even better the next day!

Here’s what you’ll need;

  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil or
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
  • 16 asparagus spears, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup kale
  • 2 cups bone broth
  • ¼ cup coconut milk (can)
  • 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1 Tbsp parsley

For the Topping;

  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup coconut oil, melted
  • ¼ cup coconut milk (can)
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, yellow squash, kale, and asparagus. Sauté until tender. Add 2 cups chicken broth and coconut milk.
  2. In a small bowl, add arrowroot powder, a tablespoon of cold water and mix. Add to vegetable skillet, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. If your mixture becomes too thick, add a bit more bone broth, stirring until you reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in cooked chicken and parsley. Pour pot pie filling into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  4. In a large bowl, add coconut flour, baking soda, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, add eggs, coconut oil, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons of water, then whisk until frothy. Pour liquid ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients, and stir to combine.
  5. Spoon topping batter over pot pie filling in equal portions. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is golden and a little crusty.

You’re done! Enjoy! I want to know what you think when you try it!

Posted on

What is Chiropractic?

So many have heard Chiropractors are great at “cracking your back” but chiropractic is about so much more. Yes, adjustments can help with back and neck pain but it can also help with so much more. Chiropractic Physicians spend three plus years learning anatomy, physiology, nutrition, biochemistry and more. So in addition to helping with chronic pain, we can also address nutritional concerns, supplementation, and help with many chronic diseases.

When you have a vertebral subluxation (misalignment in your spine) this causes interference with your central nervous system. The nervous system is our bodies control system. It helps us adapt to physical, chemical, and emotional stressors. A vertebral subluxation can compromise the nervous system interfering with its ability to regulate, coordinate, and heal. This can lead to physical pain, emotional instability, digestive problems, decreased immune system, or interfere with overall well being. Only 10% of the nerves in the body actually sense pain. This leaves 90% that do not. So instead of chasing symptoms we focus on the relationship between the spine and nervous system, restore normal function and allow you to live well and heal.

Chiropractic can help improve breathing, digestion, headaches, sciatica, disc issues, scoliosis, organ function, and so much more! This chart demonstrates how much influence your nerves have on the entire body!j

Chiropractic is very safe. Chiropractors have gone through extensive training and examinations to ensure safety. Chiropractic Physicians are required to pass four national board examinations in addition to state licensing exams. According to The National Institute of Health, “A 2007 study of treatment outcomes for 19,722 chiropractic patients in the United Kingdom concluded that minor side effects (such as temporary soreness similar to that which can be experienced after a workout) after cervical spine manipulation were relatively common, but that the risk of a serious adverse event was ‘low to very low’ immediately or up to 7 days after treatment.” Another study found that, “There was no evidence that visiting a Chiropractor put people at greater risk than visiting a primary care physician” (1).

To read a blog post all about my office click here.

Chiropractic care is one of the best ways to prevent problems in the future so be sure to see your Chiropractor regularly! If you are in need of a Chiropractor please give me a call 843-284-2273. How has Chiropractic helped you and your family???

DSC_0170 copy copy