This is my life.

An amazing production team called "Between the Pixels", in association with Life University, came to my office on Saturday, 2/2/13, to film footage about Pediatric Chiropractic.  This video is the result. Enjoy and pass it on...
http://youtu.be/A4UPr4_XSXY

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 10: Show Gratitude

 

Congratulations! You've made it to the end of the first ever Rubin Family Chiropractic Ten Weeks of Wellness Challenge!  We hope you've seen how easy it is to make simple changes in your life in order to promote global wellness - and today we thank you for letting us join you on the journey.

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

 Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

 Week 4 (Jan. 28): Caffeine

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

How often do we really take the time to say 'thank you' for the gifts - big or small - that we are given.  This week we encourage you to send an email, make a phone call, or pay a visit in order to thank those people who play a role in making your life unique and wonderful.  We at Rubin Family Chiropractic are so thankful to have you in our office week in and week out! You share your lives and stories, triumphs and successes with us and we are honored to be welcomed into your families.  Thank you for trusting us to adjust your parents, siblings and children.  It is our privilege to serve you.

We look forward to hearing form you on facebook, in the comments or via email at rubinchiropractic[at]gmail[dot]com.

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 9: Ditch the Dairy!

Hope everyone finds themselves with a...sunny...disposition following last weeks challenge!  As we near the end of our Ten Weeks of Wellness, we think you're ready for the toughest challenge yet: giving up dairy!

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

 Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

 Week 4 (Jan. 28): Caffeine

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

Dairy has mistakenly become a major focus of the American diet.  Many are under the false impression that dairy is the only dietary source of calcium available to them.  But dark leafy greens are just as, if not more, effective at supplying the body with calcium than milk or cheese is.  The problem with dairy is that it's proteins are highly inflammatory and stimulate the production of mucous.  Casein, a milk protein, has been implicated in diabetes and heart disease, and acts on the brain as an opioid -  effectively drugging the consumer, much like morphine!  No wonder kids that switch to dairy when coming off of breast milk find themselves with more ear infections - and then still want milk while they're sick! 

There are plenty of milk and dairy substitutes!  Almond, soy, coconut, and rice milk are becoming increasingly common in grocery stores.  There are also yogurts and cheeses made with these products, too, which should make exchanging most of the obvious dairy items fairly easy.  What you need to be a little more careful about are dairy products within other foods.  So much like you did with gluten, read your labels carefully.  You can do it!

Stop by our facebook, leave a comment, or send an email to rubinchiropractic[at]gmail[com] and let us know how it's going!

Sources:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1061

http://www.naturalnews.com/002695_Robert_Cohen_cows_milk.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/488110-foods-containing-opioids/

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 8: Get Some Sun!

Welcome to Week 8 of our Ten Weeks of Wellness! We hope your feeling more energized since cutting out some gluten from your diet and that your are starting to see that making diet changes, while difficult, is not impossible.  This week, with spring time on the horizon, we'd like you to get a little extra sun!

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

 Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

 Week 4 (Jan. 28): Caffeine

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

Sunshine is a vital part of leading a healthy lifestyle.  Many of you have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) - a condition marked by increased feelings of depression in the darker months of winter.  This is theorized to be the result of decreased vitamin D production, which typically occurs when sun shines on the skin causing a complex reaction to occur through out the body.  Vitamin D levels can be managed with diet as well, but getting a little mid-day sun is always best.  Go out, sans sunscreen, for just enough time to turn your skin a little pink.  For some that might be just a couple of minutes, for others it can be a little longer.  Just this much time in the sun is enough to start the chemical cascade to boost your mood!

In the winter and on rainy days there are other ways to boost your mood (while making sure to consume vitamin D in your diet or with supplements)  Just take a couple of moments (5-10 to start) to sit in a quiet room and focus on your breathing.  Taking deep, steady breaths is a good way to reduce stress and anxiety.  Pick a word that is positive and embodies a state you're looking to achieve, and focus on it.  Whenever your mind starts to wander, just return your focus to this word. Or ask Dr Rubin about the Heart Math program he has been studying.  It's a little device the size of a cell phone that measures your heart rate and can tell when you are 'in tune' or 'out of touch' by the pace of your heart.

Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002499/
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2008/06/23/time-in-the-sun-how-much-is-needed-for-vitamin-d
http://www.project-meditation.org/a_wim1/effects_of_meditation.html

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 7: Go Gluten Free!

Hopefully you've been finding fun and creative ways to pay it forward this past week!  The positive energy will hopefully be enough to power you through this week's challenge...going Gluten-free!

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

 Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

 Week 4 (Jan. 28): Caffeine

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

We know this is a huge change for a lot of people, but it's one we at Rubin Family Chiropractic really find makes a HUGE difference in our patient's lives.  Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.  It is important for binding molecules together, giving breads and baked goods their doughy texture, as opposed to just crumbling.  The problem is gluten is a highly inflammatory agent.  As it works it's way through the digestive tract it causes it to swell, which allows more of the gluten (and other potentially harmful particles) to get into the blood stream and wreak havoc else when in the body.  Even though few people have a severe allergy to gluten (known as Celiac's disease), many more have some level of sensitivity to gluten, which may not be detected by a traditional allergy test.  The best way to determine if you have sensitivity is to go gluten free for a couple of weeks and see home much better you feel!

For the purpose of our 10 Weeks of Wellness challenge, however, we're just asking you to go a day without gluten. If you make it 1 day, then try another, and so on.  Since the media has picked up on gluten sensitivity recently, it is becoming much easier to find gluten-free alternatives to everyday foods in your local grocery store.  Dr. Rubin has been gluten free for years and is happy to point you in the direction of his favorite products!

What about you?  What are some of your favorite gluten-free snacks and meals?  Let us know here or on our Facebook page!

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 6: Random Acts of Kindness

 

Welcome back, walkers!  Hopefully you've been up and moving over the last week - so much so that you didn't even realize we're past the halfway point of our challenge!.  That should have gotten your endorphins going for this week's challenge:  performing some Random Acts of Kindness!

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

 Week 4 (Jan 28):  Caffeine

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free 

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

There is no faster way to turn your day around than to have a complete stranger do something nice for you.  Think about the last time someone you didn't know said they liked your scarf or shoes - you walked a little taller, didn't you?  Intern Pam was on a Midnight Train to Georgia (yes, really)  a couple of weeks ago and she overheard the woman in front of her saying that a stranger whose table she was sat in the dining car had a nice conversation with her and then insisted on buying her dinner!  Moments like this are inspiring to the recipient of the act, but also to those within ear shot, too.  Many of you have likely seen the movie Pay It Forward, or perhaps the commercials for one insurance company that depict strangers observing kind acts and then performing their own.  This is not an unrealistic concept at all - and it can start with you!  Buy the person behind you in line their herbal tea, or hold the door open for the person behind you.  Carry someone's extra bag when their hands are full or cover the next person's toll payment on the 400.  There are so many simple ways to put a little bit of positive energy out there, and bring a smile to someone's face.

We can't wait to hear what you come up with!  Comment, email, or visit our Facebook to let us know!

Ten Weeks of Wellness - Week 5: Get Walking!

 

Welcome back, decaffeinated readers!  We hope you're doing well and noticing positive changes having cut out caffeine.  This week we're continuing with another little change that can make a big difference - just walk!

Week 1 (Jan. 7): Posture Pod Exercises

Week 2 (Jan. 14): Sleep

Week 3 (Jan. 21): Affirmation

Week 4 (Jan. 28): Caffeine Free

Week 5 (Feb. 4): Walking

Week 6 (Feb. 11): Random Acts of Kindness

Week 7 (Feb. 18): Gluten Free

Week 8 (Feb. 25): Sunshine and Meditation

Week 9 (Mar. 4): Dairy Free

Week 10 (Mar. 11): Gratitude

The health benefits of walking are astronomical.  Many people advocate that walking is even better than running in some cases. According to the Mayo clinic, these are some of the things you can look forward to when you incorporate running into your weekly routine:

• Lower cholesterol
• Losing weight
• Improved heart health
• Better mood
• Decreased risk of Type II diabetes

And those are just the well-researched benefits - studies are constantly linking walking to the reduction in risk of developing other diseases such as Alzheimer's, eye degeneration, and cancer. It's low impact, but still weight bearing so this builds up bone strength, which is great for people with osteoporosis.  As you can see, there are so many good things about walking there real is no reason not to get to it!  All it takes is about 30 minutes a day, most days of the week.  In the grand scheme of things, that really not that much time - one TV show!  You can use a treadmill or, even better, to go outside and get some vitamin D! 

Here's how to earn your weekly tickets:

• Walking for 30 minutes - 1 ticket per day (max. 5)
• Post a picture of you (and your family1) walking on our Facebook - 2 tickets
• Comment on this blog post or our Facebook page - 1 tickets

Good luck and get walking!