That Spare Tire Around Your Middle Can Be Hazardous to Your Health!

Pot belly. Spare tire. The middle age spread. These are just a few of the endearing names bestowed to the extra layer of fat that accumulates around the abdomen. But aside from the amusing nicknames, this type of fat is a serious danger. Unlike fat that appears on other parts of your body, belly fat increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea and some types of cancer.

Subcutaneous fat is the jiggly fat that rests between your skin and abdominal wall. Visceral fat is the next layer and surrounds your internal organs. Visceral fat is biologically active. It produces an excess of hormones, which increase the risk of insulin resistance - a key factor in type 2 diabetes. This hormonal imbalance puts women at higher risk of breast cancer. And visceral fat boosts inflammation throughout your body. Your chiropractor can tell you how inflammation is closely tied to numerous diseases and health conditions.

Why does belly fat affect so many people? Genetics play a role, so you may see the problem from one generation of a family to the next. Hormone fluctuations in the body can increase fat. After menopause, hormonal changes in women cause fat to gather more in the belly than hips or legs. As you age you lose muscle mass and your metabolism slows, which makes it easier to acquire fat in the abdominal area.

Poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity are also big contributors to this problem. Our increasingly sedentary ways have unleashed an explosion of obesity across North America and other industrialized areas of the world. Our love of unhealthy fatty foods and refined carbohydrates has made it all too easy to surge the waistline well past the appropriate size.

What to do?  In our next issue we will look at ways to combat this through diet and exercise. In the meantime, talk to your Chiropractor about things you can start doing today!

  www.atlanticchirofl.com

(386) 492-4881

Causes and Treatment Options for Muscle Cramps

A muscle cramp can bring a jogger to his knees or elicit the fear of drowning in a swimmer; however, athletes are not the only individuals to experience a muscle cramp or spasm. According to one estimate, approximately 95 percent of people will at some time in life experience the sudden, sharp pain associated with a muscle cramp.

A muscle spasm is an involuntary contraction of a muscle, part of a muscle, or several muscles that usually act together. If the spasm is forceful and sustained, it becomes a cramp. Most people describe a muscle cramp as a feeling of tightness in the muscle; it’s not unusual to feel a lump of hard muscle tissue underneath the skin in the vicinity of the cramp. During a spasm or cramp, it may be painful, or even difficult, to use the affected muscle or muscle group.

Cramps and spasms can affect any muscle, even those affiliated with the body’s various organs; however, they are most common in the calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Cramps in the feet, hands, arms, and lower back occur frequently, as well.

Many possible causes
Common as they are and painful as they can be, a shroud of mystery surrounds the cause of muscle spasms and cramps. Some researchers believe that inadequate stretching and muscle fatigue lead to cramps. According to the University of Michigan, other possible factors include a low level of fitness, overexertion (especially in intense heat), stress, and depletion of electrolytes through excess sweating or dehydration. Certain diuretic medications can also cause cramping due to a loss of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Treatment of muscle spasms
Typically, muscle cramps require no treatment other than patience and stretching; medicines are not generally needed to treat an ordinary muscle cramp. Gentle and gradual stretching, along with massage, may ease the pain and hasten recovery.

When a muscle spasm or cramp is the result of an injury, applying ice packs for the first two to three days may help alleviate the pain. Spasms that last a long time may be treated with moist heat for 20 minutes several times a day.

If you tend to get muscle cramps during exercise, make sure you drink enough fluids, and, after your workout, consider a warm Epsom salt bath followed by stretching of the affected muscles. Generally speaking, water is sufficient for rehydration; however, some may find a sports drink or juice beneficial as a means to restore their body’s electrolyte balance.

If your muscle cramps are associated with a specific medical condition, keep in mind that you need to address the underlying health problem for the cramps to subside.

Tips for Prevention
As with any health condition, it is always best to prevent muscle cramps or spasms—especially if you tend to develop them. Consider altering your diet and lifestyle by incorporating the following suggestions:

• Take steps to improve your diet. Eliminate sugar and caffeine from the diet, and increase consumption of fiber and protein. In addition, remember to eat plenty of calcium- and magnesium- rich foods, such as green leafy vegetables, yogurt, legumes, whole grains, tofu, and Brazil nuts. High-potassium foods, including bananas, avocados, lima beans, and fish, may also be helpful.
• Before and after you exercise, stretch muscle groups that tend to cramp.
• Incorporate strengthening exercises into your fitness routine.
• Avoid dehydration. To prevent dehydration, consume plenty of fluids and foods high in water such as fruits and vegetables.
• Avoid excess sodium and soda (high in phosphoric acid), as they can leach calcium.
• Avoid chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol, which can interfere with magnesium absorption.
• Improve your posture. For example, you may have mid-back spasms after sitting at a computer desk for too long in an awkward position.

Vitamin E has been said to help minimize cramp occurrence. Although scientific studies documenting this effect are lacking, anecdotal reports are common and fairly enthusiastic. Since vitamin E is thought to have other beneficial health effects and is not toxic in usual doses, taking 400 units of vitamin E daily could be considered.

Discuss with your doctor of chiropractic if your cramps are severe, happen frequently, respond poorly to simple treatments, or are not related to obvious causes like strenuous exercise. These could indicate a possible problem with circulation, nerves, metabolism, hormones, medications, and/or nutrition.

If you have any questions on this or any other condition, please contact our office at (386) 492-4881, and please visit our website at www.atlanticchirofl.com!

No More Ear Aches!

The constant crying and sleepless nights take as much of a toll on the parents as they do on the child. Ear infections (acute otitis media) are one of the top reasons for pediatrician appointments and about 50% of all children experience their first one before they even reach their first birthday!
The symptoms of ear infection may include pain, fever, irritability, and loss of appetite. Pulling on the ear or shaking their head is usually a sign that your child has ear pain.

Sometimes the pressure causing the pain in the middle ear builds to a point where the eardrum bursts, and blood and pus are discharged from the ear, giving you real cause for concern. Relax, generally you child will feel better once this has occurred and the hole in the ear allows any remaining fluid to drain.



Many pediatricians treat ear infections with a round of antibiotics. Chronic ear infections? The doctor will usually recommend insertion of ear tubes to “keep everything working properly.”
Research over the past decade or so, however, shows that a conservative approach is often the best response. In fact, recurrent ear infections often result from medication given to your child for the first ear infection, including chidren's pain relievers and decongestants!


Some believe that allergies, particularly to dairy products which increase mucous production, may cause chronic ear infections. Once removed from your child’s diet, the incidence of ear infections may drop significantly. Breastfeeding, particularly during the first few months of life, is associated with fewer ear infections in babies; it also gives added protection against other types of infection.


Many parents have discovered that chiropractic care not only relieves ear infections but can help prevent them. One study found that 93 percent of all childhood ear infections improved with chiropractic care. Seventy-five percent of the cases showed improvement in less than 10 days while 43 percent improved with only an adjustment or two! All this without drugs or surgery! Do you have - or know - a child we could help?

Facts About Fibroids

The good news about fibroid tumors is that they are rarely cancerous. The bad news is that they tend to develop during a woman’s peak reproductive years and they can affect your ability to become pregnant.
Fibroids are the most common type of tumor found in the pelvis and they are generally located in various spots in the uterus. Normally, you wouldn’t even be aware that you have them, unless they grow excessively large or cause discomfort. They rarely develop before the age of 20 and are non-existent before the onset of puberty, leading many experts to believe that they may be an adverse reaction to estrogen production. Generally, they shrink in size and in some cases can actually disappear in post-menopausal women who do not take estrogen supplements.
Pregnancy, a time when there is increased estrogen production, and the use of birth control pills that contain estrogen, may cause fibroids to grow more rapidly.
Most women with fibroid tumors experience no symptoms at all. When they do, they generally complain of pain and excessive bleeding during menstruation, which may not be noticeable at first. But then the woman’s periods may begin to last longer, and sometimes there is constant bleeding. Another symptom may be an enlarged stomach due to the stretching of the uterus that results in the intestines being pushed upward.
Fibroids are usually discovered during an annual gynecological examination when a mass may be detected. Many doctors will perform an ultrasound to properly diagnose the mass.
While hysterectomy was once the treatment of choice for fibroids, there are far less invasive alternatives. Some believe that fibroids are the result of certain trace mineral deficiencies, estrogen imbalance, inflammatory diet, obesity or the way we handle stress.
Our office has helped many women with fibroids, by restoring harmony to the nervous system through adjusting, nutritional guidance, and weight reduction.
Surgery and the use of pharmacological agents should always be the last resort for treating any health problem. Try natural, safer, less-invasive methods first!
Call us today to see if we can help you!   (386) 492-4881 or reach us at here!

3 Worst Things To Do While Dieting

I have some sad news today.

Well, it's not really news, because you probably already know this:  Less than 5% of people who go on a diet actually succeed at losing weight (and keeping it off).

*Moment of silence.*

What a sad, yet very true statistic.
Fortunately, it's not really all that complicated when you know "what's up" (as the kids say).  You see, out of all the reasons people fail to see results from dieting, I've enumerate what I feel are the 3 BIGGEST culprits below…and if you STOP doing these 3 things, you'll be well on your way to losing a ton of weight…for good.

The 3 Worst Things to NEVER Do While Dieting

1.  Heavily restrict your calorie intake.  Sure, it may make logical sense that if you only eat a cup of salad a day, you'll be losing fat like gangbusters.  Unfortunately, it don't quite work like that.  The truth is, your body hates heavy calorie restriction and crash diets…they almost instantly send your body in to "starvation mode", decreasing metabolism and causing your body to hold on to your fat stores as a starvation protection mechanism.
Moderate, not severe, calorie restriction is the way to go for consistent, week-to-week fat loss…but even that can become problematic.  Bringing us to our next worst thing to NEVER do while dieting:

2.  Restrict calories for more than 1 week.  No matter how moderate your calorie restriction, it won't take the body long to figure out that you're eating fewer calories than it's used to getting on a daily basis.  The result?  Slowed fat loss and the dreaded fat loss plateau.  Not only do fat loss plateaus suck from a results standpoint, but they're incredibly disheartening psychologically and cause many people to give up on diets from the lack of progress.
I mean, who wants to sacrifice for no reward?  Not me.
Research has shown that it takes just under a week for important fat burning hormones to drop off due to calorie restriction, so it's best that calorie restriction be limited to 1 week at a time.  So what do you do to "reset" your metabolism after a week of dieting?  Well, that brings us to our next worst thing to NEVER do while dieting:

3.  Deprive yourself of your favorite foods.  Do you like ice cream? Yeah, me too.  How about pizza?  Love it.  Shame that these delectable favorites aren't on the "approved" foods list of very many "diets", and that brings up several problems:

A) You're GOING to cheat.  Yes, even you with the supersonic will power. And when you do, you're going to feel guilty and defeated…but you don't have to, and you shouldn't feel that way.


B) Depriving yourself of your favorite foods for weeks at a time will actually detract from your results due to the reasons shared in #2.

If you're feeling that you would like to see some positive results in your body then we can create a custom plan for you. Feel free to contact us if you want results.  And yes we do accept calls over the weekend.


Atlantic Chiropractic and Wellness Center
386-492-4881