Nutrition and Chiropractic

I have always considered myself a fairly healthy person and one of my goals has been to present myself to the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic Clinic as such. That being said, I do have some health concerns.

To begin with, since I am a chiropractor I will declare that I have my bouts with neck pain, back pain and the occasional headache but for the most part I am pain free. Since college I have suffered from a mild case of office hypertension - meaning that my blood pressure was borderline high but I attribute that to the anxiety I get from taking my blood pressure. Another thing worth mentioning is that some days I would get a little spacey from mild hypoglycemia, but this would only happen on days where my diet suffered from poor planning. Overall, for my age (44) my health compared favorably to most of those in my age group.

One day here about two months ago my assistant Linda told me that she had a representative from Standard Process coming to the office to discuss nutritional products. At the time of this appointment, I really had no expectations of where this would go. I figured that since I exercised and ate right (for the most part) that we would be discussing products for my patients.

By the time the appointment with the Standard Process representative ended both Linda and I had committed to doing a 21 day purification program. It was at this point where I really started looking at my diet. What I found was that vegetables and fruits were a good part of my diet but so were bean rice and cheese burritos, occasional cheeseburgers, potato chips, an occasional soda pop and lots of coffee. All of this stuff would have to go under the guidelines of the purification program.

Basically, the purification program involves taking whole food supplements to stimulate the kidneys, liver and intestines to eliminate toxins, supplementing whey protein for animal protein sources and eliminating all caffeine, dairy and processed foods.

Today is the thirteenth day of our purification program. I am embarrassed to say that even as a doctor with extensive schooling in nutrition that I have been taken back by the dramatic positive changes in my health as a result of this purification program. To begin with, what I thought was office hypertension is gone. Since the third day of this program my blood pressure reading has ranged from a low of 115/74 to a high of 121/80. This reading is accompanied by a calmness that I have rarely if ever felt as an adult. In addition to lower blood pressure, my digestion is significantly better - no more bloating, my blood sugar has been stable and my sleep is much improved.

I attribute these improvements in my health to three simple changes that seem so elementary. Stop putting junk in, eat a clean healthy diet and get the toxins stored in my body out.

I have been asked what I plan to do after the 21 day program is over. At this point, I can't imagine not continuing with a healthy diet and taking whole food supplements. The taste of that BRC burrito or that morning cup of coffee will not be missed in the least.

Chiropractic and Nutrition: Soy – Good or Bad

Being a Chiropractor in San Diego, I am surrounded by patients who try to make improvements in their health on a number of fronts. Sure, they often come to my office complaining of neck pain, back pain or headaches that require chiropractic care, but usually at some point the topic of nutrition comes up. At that point I usually ask the question - Do you consume soy?

Soy is everywhere now days. It can be found in bread, cakes, baby formula, milk, meat substitutes, cereal, snack foods and even pet foods. As most of you know you can even get soy-based drinks at Starbucks. In fact, almost every time that I have been in Starbucks I overhear customers ordering a “Soy Chai Latte” something or other - intentionally.

In many cases, soy seems to be the answer to many peoples diet concerns. Those who are lactose intolerant use soy milk and soy burgers are seen as an ideal protein substitute for those who are vegetarians.

Soy, however, has some very real health complications for its consumers. Soy is an estrogen precursor and can cause a host of side effects in both women and men. Like most hormones, elevated levels of estrogen come with dangers. Soy can trigger the growth of estrogen based fibrotic tumors in women and result in the formation of breast tissue in men (gynecomastia).

Many people have allergies to soy that can cause everything from mal-absorption to full blown allergic reactions that include upset stomachs, excessive mucus production, vomiting and hives.  Allergies to soy is relevant for my patients because it can cause or contribute to joint pain and stiffness as well.

In addition to elevated estrogen levels, soy milk contains nearly 100 times the aluminum that is found in cow’s milk. In a report issued in 1997 by the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition, aluminum levels in breast milk ranged from 4 to 65 ng/mL while soy-based formulas contained 600 to 1300 ng/mL. As many of you may know, research is leaning heavily toward aluminum as a contributor to Alzheimer’s disease.

Soy is neither safe nor natural. It is heavily processed with a variety of toxic chemicals.

Soy is often offered as a healthier and natural alternative to our normal foods. However, there are many problems with soy, and I see my chiropractic patients struggle with physical symptoms secondary to soy consumption on a regular basis. This article touches on just a few of the problems with soy consumption. If you would like more information on soy, try going to the food and drug administrations’ website and search for “soy” to find in depth material on the possible dangers of soy in your diet.

Diet, exercise and chiropractic care can all contribute toward making you a much healthier and happier person. 

Chiropractic and Nutrition Continued

Ever since I started practicing chiropractic in San Diego I have had trouble sleeping. I addressed this issue in several blog posts over the last few weeks.

As many of you know, lack of sleep makes days difficult and nights dreadful.

I had always assumed that my lack of sleep was secondary to stress from my business / practice. It seemed like a reasonable assumption. I spend my days treating patients who I truly care about for neck pain, back pain, headaches and other aches and pains. While I love my job, having patients depend on you for their well being is stressful and I do think of these things at night.

There was also a time when I decided that my lack of a good nights sleep was due to caffeine. As a result of this assumption I completely weaned myself off of coffee for about five years. This didn't really help me sleep any better but I was much calmer in fact until I eliminated caffeine from my diet I didn't realize how anxious it made me.

As you may have read in my prior posts, I ended up having a hair mineral analysis that had really interesting results.  The Mineral Analysis showed a deficiency in several nutrient minerals that can have an impact on sleep.

For the last six weeks or so I have been supplementing these minerals and have been experiencing some exciting results. As of last night, I have been sleeping for three or four hours per night longer than I used to.

What a huge difference!

Instead of feeling run down and tired I actually have energy. My anxiety has decreased and my paper work shuffle at work is much more efficient.

I still have great concerns about my patients' neck pain, back pain and headaches, but I think about them during the day now, not at night.

Last night I had a horrible sleep and today I feel wiped out. It made me wonder how I used to live with nights like that on a regular basis.

Nutrition and Chiropractic Update

Back in the early part of April, I posted a blog article regarding chiropractic care and nutrition, specifically, my own nutrition. Being the owner of my San Diego Chiropractic office, I spend most of my days treating patients with neck pain and back pain. While neck pain and back pain are very important to resolve, there are other health concerns that must be addressed if we expect to be truly healthy.

Several months ago, I had a hair mineral analysis performed on myself. The results of that test were surprising to me. Aside from my calcium and magnesium levels, every other nutrient mineral was deficient.

Even iron!  This is normal for women but not so common in men.  Without the analysis, I would have never thought this finding was a possibility.

As I had indicated in prior posts on this topic, one of my primary health concerns over the last 10 years has been lack of restful sleep or insomnia.

As I read up on the minerals that I was deficient in, insomnia was a side effect in two of them in instances of deficiency.

That bit of knowledge was not enough to quiet the skeptic in me. After all, the company that does the hair mineral analysis also makes the vitamins and minerals that they recommended to me. In addition, I also indicated on my paperwork that insomnia is one of my health concerns.

In order to test these results, I bought mineral supplements from a local source and began taking them as directed on the containers. It took about 11 days before I could say for sure that the quality of my sleep had improved. Within a few more days the improvement was dramatic. Prior to taking these mineral supplements, a good nights sleep was limited to two or three nights per month.

As I write this blog post, I have slept well, over 7 hours per night, for the past month or so. Despite all this quality sleep, I still feel like I am playing catch-up with my rest. I suppose that is the result of 10 years of poor sleep.

I will do future posts on this topic. In the mean time, remember that you are what you eat! Poor dietary habits definitely create a need for dietary supplements. Maintaining your health is work but it is worthwhile.

Nutrition Update

I did a post on Monday March 31st regarding a new supplement program that I had started in the middle of March. I am ecstatic about the results so far!  Before I ever recommend supplements to the patients of my San Diego Chiropractic clinic I like to test them on myself first - so far this test has gone better than expected.

In my last post I had touched on some health issues that have been plaguing me for years. The issues that I mentioned were insomnia and anxiety.

To back track just a little bit, I had read quite a bit about hair mineral analysis over the years and out of curiosity finally had one done. My results revealed deficiencies in several minerals that can cause not only insomnia but anxiety.

I had begun taking the minerals that I was deficient in and as of this last Monday I had three consecutive good nights sleep. It is now Friday, April 04, 2008 and I have now had seven (7) great nights sleep.

For the first time in years I don't feel like I need a cup of coffee to get me started in the morning and I don't feel myself running out of energy in the mid-afternoon.

I am not sure at this point how I am doing with my anxiety levels. I definitely feel less anxious than I did. That being the case, I am reasonably sure that the only stress that has reduced in my life is the stress that I used to have when I was trying to sleep.

Either way, I am sleeping better, MUCH BETTER, and my anxiety level seems to be lower.

I realize that I have only been doing this for a few weeks but this is encouraging. My results thus far really makes me want to look at the rest of my health habits a bit harder. Maybe a few adjustments in my diet such as eliminating a bit more refined sugar and simply resisting the urge to succumb to unhealthy cravings could help me attain a level of health that I have not had in years.

Chiropractors education is much deeper regarding nutrition than what medical receive on this topic.  If you want help with your nutrition please call us at (619) 280-0554 - we would be happy to help.

Yours' In Good Health,

Dr. Steve Jones
10393 San Diego Mission Road Suite 130
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 831-8777

Nutritional Pathway to Health

Several posts ago I did an article on my nutritional state. I am doing this for several reasons.
First of all, I want to get healthier and I want to set a good example for the patients' of my San Diego Chiropractic practice. While I had a fantastic educational experience in nutrition 18 years ago in chiropractic college, my implementation of my nutritional education has been absent from my San Diego chiropractic office. I take some responsibility for this as my focus has been on helping patients with specific complaints of neck pain, low back pain, headaches and the like.


Secondly, before I implement anything into my patients' care I like to be on board with it so I can have first hand experience with its benefits. Nutrition is no different. I have been hit and miss with my diet and supplements for years - it is time for a change.


To recap my first post on this topic, I had a hair mineral analysis performed approximately on e month ago. The results revealed deficiencies in many nutrient minerals. Some of the minerals that I was deficient in have the ability to cause anxiety and may affect my ability to sleep soundly. Both anxiety and insomnia are conditions that I have struggled with for years.


The lab that I used for my hair analysis not only provided a report regarding my deficiencies, but they also gave me a supplement recommendation list that I could use to restore proper mineral balance in my system.


As of the date of this post, I have been taking my supplements as advised by the lab for about ten days. At this point I feel a bit more clear headed and I have slept soundly for over 7 hours per night over the last three nights. I know that three nights good sleep is not a fix, but it is unusual. In a typical month I usually only get two or three good nights sleep.


Three good nights sleep in a row is a record for me and enough evidence to justify continuing with my nutritional supplements.


I will post again on this topic in a few weeks to let you all know how I am progressing.

Chiropractic and Nutrition - Another Angle

I want to be healthy - and 30 again! Only one of these things can happen and I am never seeing thirty again.

Many San Diego Chiropractors incorporate nutrition into their practices. It is a logical step and an essential part of helping patients regain and maintain their health. That being said, I have not quite grasped some of the concepts employed by chiropractors and other doctors regarding testing for nutrient deficiencies.

I have always liked measurements to guide my outcomes. Granted, in health care, many times "improvement" in a patients' condition is driven by the patients' symptoms.

In other words, when they are out of pain they are done with care!

This is seldom a good call, most of the time it isn't. Even doctors are advised against making judgments regarding delivery of care for their own illnesses. After all, many patients are riddled with cancer or have major blockage in their hearts' arteries yet the patient has no symptoms. Like any of these conditions, treatment for even seemingly minor symptoms is best when delivered until the illness is completely resolved.

Our state of wellness is fleeting and worsened when we ignore signals that we are losing our health.

We can develop mild symptoms like insomnia or anxiety or fatigue for example and attribute them to something other than some internal issue. Often our symptoms are attributed to things such as work stress or relationship problems. While those stresses are contributors to our symptoms, diet and ultimately nutrition take the lead role in producing symptoms of ill health.

I recently made the decision to have a hair analysis performed for mineral content. The lab that we are now using for hair analysis uses state of the art equipment to analyze the hair sample then they generate a report containing specifics regarding their findings. They also include recommended supplements and gobs of information regarding the consequences of their findings.

Having considered myself above the average as far as my health goes, I was shocked by the reports findings.

This report is exactly what I need to drive my nutritional supplement schedule. It provides a measure of where I am and what I should take to get where I need to be.

One last thing, for those of you who have dismissed the findings of a hair analysis as inaccurate, improvements in this procedure over the last ten years have made it as accurate as blood tests - which are quite accurate.

If you are serious about getting healthy, do yourself a favor and get a hair analysis performed. It will do wonders in guiding your nutritional plan and will keep you on a course toward better health!