Feel Like You're Allergic to Everything but Yourself!? Not Anymore!

I have composed a series of articles discussing how chiropractic care can be incorporated in the treatment plan for a variety of different conditions.  Chiropractic adjustments, in addition to making you feel good due to freeing up irritation to the nervous system, can be an effective tool to assist in the management many different conditions.  Since your nervous system is involved in nearly every function in your body, having a healthy nervous system is essential to maintaining good health! I hope you enjoy this series! Please let me know if you would like to see other conditions discussed in the future!

This time of year it is common for many of us to start experiencing those annoying sniffles, sneezes, and congestion.  No one likes to fall victim to the "yellow snow", so here are a few tips to win the battle against allergies this season!

1. Eat local honey - Having some local honey every day can help to put a damper on your allergy symptoms.  Consuming local honey (as opposed to honey harvested elsewhere) often contains the same pollen that is causing you to sneezing! Eating the honey can cause your body to get used to these allergens and have less of a reaction. 

2. Make sure you're getting your fruits and veggies - some studies have shown that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables can cause you to have less of an allergic reaction to seasonal allergens.  Fruits and vegetables have a number of different health benefits, so it's always a good idea to add more to your diet!

3.  Stay hydrated - we typically lose a lot of fluid when we have the sniffles.  Replenishing this fluid will (among providing other health benefits) help thin your mucus to decrease the amount of congestion you experience.  

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4.  Chiropractic care - Chiropractic care improves nervous system function by allowing your brain and body to communicate properly.  There is some research to support the idea that this also helps to improve the immune system and may help with allergies.  You are always welcome to contact our office for your free consultation to see if chiropractic care is right for you.

We hope you enjoyed this post and wish you all the best this allergy season.  For more information current health topics and chiropractic care, please visit our blog at www.nhwchiro.blogspot.com. You may also contact our Daytona Beach office to schedule your free initial consultation with Dr. Fleming to see if you may benefit from chiropractic care.  

Dr. Alesha Fleming

Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, LLC

Daytona Beach, FL

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Dr. Fleming is a family chiropractor in Daytona Beach, Florida.  She is passionate about preventative health care and nutrition and enjoys empowering her patients to improve their health and fitness, one day at a time!

Add Chiropractic Care to your Toolbox in Conquering your Anxiety!

I have composed a series of articles discussing how chiropractic care can be incorporated in the treatment plan for a variety of different conditions.  Chiropractic adjustments, in addition to making you feel good due to freeing up irritation to the nervous system, can be an effective tool to assist in the management many different conditions.  Since your nervous system is involved in nearly every function in your body, having a healthy nervous system is essential to maintaining good health! I hope you enjoy this series! Please let me know if you would like to see other conditions discussed in the future!

Anxiety is a very common disorder that affects the lives of millions of Americans each day.  This condition can manifest in a number of different ways.  Some individuals experience panic attacks when exposed to stressful situations.  Panic attacks are characterized by a feeling of shortness of breath, increased heart rate, and sometimes also feelings of chest tightness or chest pain.  It can be mistaken for a heart attack.  Occasionally, the disorder can be accompanied by other disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder.  In very severe cases, the illness may be treated using anti-anxiety prescription medications.  Here we are going to discuss how you can try manage your disorder without prescriptions.  However, if you feel that you are suffering from anxiety disorder, please visit your physician to discuss your treatment options before trying any of these recommendations.

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​Learning to manage how you react to stressful situations can make a huge difference in the number of anxiety attacks you experience.  Please visit the links at the bottom of the page for information on stress management and meditation, a proven management option for mild forms of anxiety disorders.  The key to getting the best results, as with many other conditions, is early detection. If you feel you may have symptoms of anxiety, it is imperative to seek out help early in order to manage the condition before it becomes more severe.  Doing so may allow you to manage the condition more conservatively.  Therapy, hypnosis, and counseling are other treatment options that are available that can also have very favorable results.  Call your doctor today to find out if you may have anxiety disorder.  

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Chiropractic care can help relax the nervous system and may also be a tool you may want to consider using in your battle against anxiety.  Feel free to contact our office for your free consultation to see if chiropractic care may be a good option for you.  

Dr. Alesha Fleming

Herzing University, Professor of Anatomy

Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, Chiropractic Physician

Daytona Beach, Florida

Dr. Fleming is a family chiropractor in Daytona Beach, Florida.  She is passionate about preventative health care and nutrition and enjoys empowering her patients to improve their health and fitness, one day at a time!

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Natural Methods of Blood Pressure Control!

About 1 in every 3 people in America suffer from high blood pressure.  Clearly, that's quite a large chunk of the population. Lifestyle choices, genetics, and environmental factors all play a role in whether or not a person will develop high blood pressure.  However, just because you may be genetically predisposed to having this condition, doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do to prevent it.  Quite the contrary actually! Lifestyle modifications are the number one thing you can do to maintain a healthy blood pressure.  If you are already suffering from hypertension, fear not! It is possible to reverse these symptoms if you put your mind to it! Now before we go any further, controlling your blood pressure is very important and uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to fatal complications.  Therefore, be sure to visit your primary care physician to have your blood pressure checked and monitored regularly.  

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Now, if your blood pressure is controlled or if you are looking to prevent it from getting high, there are quite a few things you can do! Again, be sure to do each of these under the supervision of your doctor.  

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1.  Make some changes to your diet.  Many of us already know that decreasing the amount of sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat in our diet can help to lower cholesterol.  However, there are many other things that can be done in your diet to help control or prevent the onset of this condition.  Try adding some blueberries to your diet.  Blueberries have a number of health benefits and studies have shown that eating a handful of blueberries a day can lower your blood pressure.  Cutting back on caffinated beverages such as sodas and coffee can also help lower your blood pressure.  

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2. Exercise.  It can be difficult to fit exercise into our busy schedules.  However, adding just a few minutes of exercise to your daily routine will add years to your life and life to your years! It has great benefits to your cardiovascular system and can improve the strength of your heart muscle, and also lower your blood pressure.  

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3.  Several different supplements are available that have been shown to lower blood pressure more naturally.  Some of them include Co-Q10, Red Yeast Rice and Omega-3 fatty acids.  These supplements aren't right for everyone but talk to your doctor to see if they may work for you as a way to manage mild or borderline low blood pressure.  

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4.  There is some research and several case studies that show that chiropractic care can be effective in helping to lower blood pressure.  How does that work? Because a chiropractic adjustment affects the nervous system, it can stimulate the parasympathetic nerves that feed your heart and decrease your blood pressure.  Therefore, you may want to consider regular chiropractic care as a method of managing your condition.  

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5. Finally, stress, especially chronic stress, can cause your blood pressure to spike significantly.  Visit the "stress management" tab by clicking the link below to see what you can do to manage your stress levels.  

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For more tips on natural healthcare and information on chiropractic, please be sure to check out the resources tab at the top of the page.  Have more specific questions? Please contact our Daytona Beach office and we will assist you in the best way we can.  

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Dr. Alesha Fleming

Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, LLC

Daytona Beach, FL

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Dr. Fleming is a family chiropractor in Daytona Beach, Florida.  She is passionate about preventative health care and nutrition and enjoys empowering her patients to improve their health and fitness, one day at a time!

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Why Opting for a Higher SPF May Not be Such a Good Idea...

Many of us are guilty of going to the store and buying the sunscreen with the highest SPF on the label, without much consideration for anything else.  Well, the problem is that sunscreens with a higher SPF don't actually have much, if any, added sun protection than more moderately labeled SPF ratings.  Before we get too deep into this however, let's talk about what SPF actually means.

SPF stands for "sun protection factor" and basically represents the amount of time that can be spent in the sun without becoming sun burned.  On average, a person can be in the sun for about 30 minutes before becoming sun burned.  The SPF number on your sunscreen tells you how many times more than this you are able to stay in the sun.  For example, an SPF label of 10 means that you are able to stay in the sun for about 300 minutes, or 5 hours after one application without becoming burned.  Similarly, an SPF of 100 implies that you can stay in the sun for 50 hours without being burned.  Sounds like a ridiculously large figure right?  Well the problem (as you can imagine) is that for high SPFs like this, this formula doesn't really work out to be true.  In fact, once SPF reaches a point greater than 50, there is almost no difference in the level of protection that is offered by the sunscreen.  What's more is that random testing of sunscreens revealed that many sunscreens that claim to have SPF 100 protection actually only contain between 30 and 70 SPF.  So, why should you avoid using the higher SPF sunscreens? Well, other than the above, here's a list of some of the reasons:

1. Because the higher SPF products are focused on preventing sunburn (caused by UVB rays), they do not offer much protection against UVA rays.  Why does that matter? Well although UVB rays are associated with superficial skin damage (burns) and melanomas (a type of serious, often fatal skin cancer).  However, UVA rays penetrate deeper and actually are more likely to cause skin cancer.  Since SPF is focused on only preventing UVB rays from entering the skin, they often offer little to no protection against these UVA rays, often even less protection than some of the lower SPF sunscreens.  

2. Because of the high number on the bottle, people tend not to re-apply sunscreens with higher SPFs often enough, resulting in more skin damage than they would have had using the lower SPF options.  Although some sunscreens with higher SPFs can theoretically be applied only once over the course of several hours, it is recommended that ALL sunscreens, no matter what the SPF value is, are applied every 2 hours to ensure the proper level of protection is maintained.  

3.  In addition to not applying sunscreen frequently enough, many people don't apply enough sunscreen during each application.  For example, using only 25% of the "recommended" amount of sunscreen in an application of SPF 30 will lead to a protection of only SPF 2.3! Again, if the SPF on the label is higher, people tend to use less of it, exposing themselves to more harmful radiation

So what do you do? Well, it's typically recommended that you get a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 to 50.  This will give you the protection you need without many of the potential side effects!  

References: 

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The Procter & Gamble Company. Comments on the Revised Effectiveness Determination; Sunscreen Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use (Docket No. FDA-1978-N-0018, RIN 0910-AF43). September 15, 2011.

Autier P, Dore JF, Negrier S, Lienard D, Panizzon R, Lejeune FJ, Guggisber D, Eggermont AMM. 1999. Sunscreen Use and Duration of Sun Exposure: a Double-Blind, Randomized Trial. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 91(15): 1304-1309.

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EWG. What's Wrong With High SPF? 

https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/whats-wrong-with-high-spf/

Dr. Alesha Fleming.  Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, LLC.  Daytona Beach, FL.  www.nhwchiro.com/summer

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Summer Health Tip - Nutritious and Delicious!

Chiropractic Care for Children - By Dr. Jeanne Ohm

More and more parents are seeking chiropractic care for their children. Many spinal problems seen in adults began as early as birth. Even so called “natural” birthing methods can stress an infant’s spine and developing nerve system. The resulting irritation to the nerve system caused by spinal and cranial misalignment can be the cause of many newborn health complaints. Colic, breathing problems, nursing difficulties, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions and chronic infections can often be traced to nerve system stress.

Since significant spinal trauma can occur at birth, many parents have their newborns checked right away. As the infant grows, learning to hold up the head, sit, crawl and walk are all activities that affect spinal alignment and are important times to have a child checked by a Doctor of Chiropractic.

As the child begins to participate in regular childhood activities like skating or riding a bike, small yet significant spinal misalignments (subluxations) may occur. If neglected, the injuries during this period of rapid growth may lead to more serious problems later in life. Subtle trauma throughout childhood will affect the future development of the spine leading to impaired nervous system function. Any interference to the vital nerve system will adversely affect the body’s ability to function at its best.

One of the most common reasons parents seek care for their child is trauma from an injury of some sort. These misalignments may or may not result in immediate pain or symptoms. Regular chiropractic checkups can identify potential spinal injury from these traumas, make the correction early in life and help avoid many of the health complaints seen later in adults. Proper spinal hygiene is an important key to better health. Another sought out reason for care is the resolution of a particular symptom or condition. Parents seek care for conditions such as colic, ear infections, asthma, allergies and headaches (to name a few) because they have heard from other parents that chiropractic care can help.

It is important to understand that the Doctor of Chiropractic does not treat conditions or diseases. The expertise of the chiropractor is in checking the child’s spine for mis-alignments that impair nerve system function therefore affecting overall body function. The bones of the spine, the vertebrae, house and protect the spinal cord. The spinal cord is an extension of the brain and carries information from the brain to the body parts and back to the brain again. Subluxations interfere with the nerves’ ability to transmit this vital information.

The nerve system controls and coordinates the function of all the systems in the body: circulatory, respiratory, digestive, hormonal, eliminative and immune system. Any aspect of health may be impaired by nerve interference. The chiropractic adjustment restores nerve system function allowing the body the ability to express a greater state of health and well-being.

The Doctor of Chiropractic will take a case history and perform a chiropractic exam to determine if spinal subluxations exist. Chiropractic adjusting procedures are modified to fit a child’s size, weight, and unique spinal condition. They are both gentle and specific to the child’s developing spinal structures. Most parents report that their children enjoy their chiropractic adjustments and look forward to subsequent visits. They also report that their children experience a greater level of health while under regular chiropractic care.

1.  Ohm, Jeanne.  Chiropractic Care for Children.  Childhood Wellness Articles. Issue #05.

2.  Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, LLC.  www.nhwchiro.com

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Natural and Effective Method to Ease Labor and Delivery

Pregnancy is a very precious and unique time in a woman’s life.  It is a time in which the body chemistry and needs are unlike any other time in our lives.  After all, during pregnancy, one body is functioning to support and provide for the needs of two!  With this fact in mind, it’s easy to understand why nutrition and support of healthy function are so important.  Keeping the line of communication between brain and body functioning properly.  If you’re not familiar with how chiropractic works, here’s a short explanation:

As many of us know, the brain, spinal cord and nerves are the line of communication in your body, controlling pretty much all of the functions you can think of – movement, touch, pain, sight, hearing, smell, digestion, breathing and much, much more! The nervous system is largely protected by the spine and the skull, also allowing nerves to exit through openings in the spine.  These nerves then connect with organs and muscles to make the connection between them and the brain. Irritations in the spine due to injuries, poor posture, or in our case, extra stress like pregnancy, can cause joints in the spine to become fixated or “stuck”.  This can cause irritation to the nerves, causing not just pain, but often also a decrease in signal transmission between brain and body. This can cause pain, headaches, dizziness, poor coordination, and so much more.  Chiropractic physicians are part of a unique profession that involves applying specific “adjustments” to the joints in the spine to remove these areas of fixation and allow the body to function normally once more.  (visit: http://www.nhwchiro.com/what-is-chiropractic for more information on chiropractic, as well as answers to frequently asked questions). 

Many women seek out chiropractic care during pregnancy because it can act as a fantastic source of pain relief for the muscular and joint pains that often arise. In actuality, chiropractic in pregnancy is about so much more than pain relief.  As a matter of fact, pain relief is really just a side effect of restoring the body’s ability to function and communicate properly.  As we mentioned above, a number of body systems are affected by a chiropractic adjustment.  Let’s start by talking about the mother.  During pregnancy, the mother’s pelvis goes through a few different changes to accommodate the presence and delivery of the new baby.  The ligaments in the pelvis become more lax to give the baby more space, which frequently can lead to joint dysfunction and low back and hip discomfort².  This is probably the most common reason that pregnant women seek out a chiropractor.  However, abnormalities in pelvic alignment and joint motion can lead to difficulties during labor³.  Ensuring that the joints in the pelvis are moving properly also helps to ensure that the baby has optimal room to move and grow.  Additionally, as you can imagine, it is very important to keep the nervous system healthy to ensure proper functioning of your organs to support your growing baby¹.   Many chiropractors have special techniques that they use to accommodate the mother and her growing baby.  In our office, we have a special pillow that gently cradles the belly and allows the mother to lay   Please come back next week to find out what other benefits chiropractic care has on pregnancy. 
face down comfortably to receive her treatment.

Enjoyed this post? We welcome you to like us on Facebook for access to more information on this topic and other topics in healthcare. 

1.  Ohm, Jeanne.  Chiropractic care in pregnancy for safer, easier birth

2.  http://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/bodily-changes-during#HormonalChanges1

3.  Cunningham FG et al, "Dystocia Due to Pelvic Contraction", Williams Obstetrics, Nineteenth Ed 1989.

4.  Fleming, A. Natural Health and Wellness Chiropractic, LLC.  www.nhwchiro.com