Avocados: Heart Healthy and Delicious, plus a Recipe!

Did you know that avocados are not only delicious, but they are powerhouses of nutrition, too!!!???!!  With this being Heart Health week at Hackbart chiropractic, it's the perfect time to highlight this delicious super food and share some ways it can contribute to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Avocados contain oleic acid, an omega-9, monounsaturated fatty acid that can help lower our "bad" cholesterol (LDL).  Oleic acid is also believed to slow the pace of heart disease and promote the production of antioxidants.  The vitamin B6 and folic acid in avocados also control homocysteine levels, which again, helps to reduce the risks of heart disease.

Avocados are simply an all around nutrition burst.  The lutein they contain helps to prevent age-related eye deterioration.  And they are loaded with fiber which helps with digestion and regulation of blood sugar.  Glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants, is also found in avocados.  Glutathione boosts the body's immune system and promotes a healthy nervous system.

Chiropractic is about natural health and healing.  Regular chiropractic visits go hand-in-hand with appropriate exercise and a healthy diet to be the least invasive, chemical-free and most successful ways to attain, and keep, good health.  They all help to prevent and to treat the root cause of health problems, instead of simply trying to mitigate symptoms.

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Call the office, today to schedule a regular health maintenance adjustment and check out the recipe link, below, for just one example of how delicious, healthy eating can be.  Our friend, Glenda, at Busy-at-Home has a fabulous recipe for Avocado Salsa (Click the picture or this link to get the recipe.) that will tantalize the taste buds of even the most finicky eaters in your household!  Enjoy!

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Prostate Health: A Chiropractic Approach

Like any organ in the body, the prostate gland is in constant communication with the brain and if that communication is disrupted the prostate is not working at its optimal level.  This makes it more difficult for the prostate to function normally, as well as ward off bacteria or viruses that may play a role in some forms of prostatitis.  If there is a subluxation involved, (typically in the lower back), then it is likely that the prostate will respond to specific adjustments performed by a chiropractor.  Some common symptoms associated with an unhealthy prostate include the inability to empty the bladder, decreased urine flow, and increase in frequency of urination at night, to name just a few.  Another issue that typically gets good results with specific adjustments to the lower back is erectile dysfunction.  When the prostate is unhealthy, the sex organs are involved making it difficult for some men to function normally on their own.

Interestingly, 80% of men with chronic low back pain also have prostate problems! A study done, by Dr. Winsor, found that eight out of eight male subjects who were having prostate problems also had nerve interference in the lumbar region of their backs.  This shows that a lack of communication with the prostate gland may have a role in the function and overall health of the prostate.  Restoring communication, with specific chiropractic adjustments, will help achieve or maintain a healthy prostate.

If you have questions, or are experiencing symptoms that you think may be related to prostate health, call our office and make an appointment to speak to Dr. Hackbart, Dr. Folkers, or Dr. Isaacson about restoring the nerve communication to the prostate gland. Chemical medications or invasive procedures should never be a first course of action.  Instead of masking symptoms with temporary fixes, the natural healing of chiropractic care should always be the first choice for restoring health and eliminating the root cause of the problem.

Nichole Thomas: Patient Video Testimonial

Nichole Thomas discontinued use of a prescription antibiotic, after just 24 hours, to instead, allow chiropractic to strengthen her immune system. This natural, healthy choice allowed her to recover from shingles in just two weeks, while someone she was close to continued their prescription and suffered a long and painful "recovery" experience. A long-time chiropractic patient, Nichole understood the benefits and opted for the healthy alternative. We're proud and grateful to have Nichole as a patient at Hackbart Chiropractic. Listen to her video testimonial to get the full-story on her healing experiences, with not just shingles, but with the pain of fibromyalgia.

Are We Healthier?

Since the creation of the USDA's food pyramid, in 1972, are we a healthier nation?   TIME magazine's 2008 article didn't think so; and 5 years later our answer would unfortunately stay the same.

This Time Magazine cover suggests that American health was bad in 2008 - Unfortunately, in comparison to 16 other countries, it still is.  Credit: time.com

It's time to start taking our health back and not mindlessly follow the USDA's standard of food safety, the Medical Association's mandates on vaccines and Big Pharma's greedy offers to fix all life's ailments; which the former two agencies produce and their own drugs create.  Disease management through vaccines, pharmaceuticals  and unnecessary medical procedures cannot take the place of a healthy lifestyle.  A healthy lifestyle includes healthy eating, but when the USDA became involved with our food supply, our food became.......well, not really food at all, but more of a big business.  It is made with cost in mind and most of it is laden with fillers, dyes, artificial preservatives, pesticides and hormones that the USDA has passed with a green light.   Yet fresh, natural, raw milk, with no hormonal or antibiotic residue, is illegal!

Wellness education is now needed to help unhealthy Americans train there brains to think before they eat, pop a pill or go under the knife.  And thinking we are!  Chiropractic, Nutritionalists, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Physical Trainers and many more natural approaches to health are being sought out.

There is a way to Hope, Healing, and Health, but it has to be sought out in America, because it is not the culture of our system.  The system is broken and the unhealthy are seeking other options.  It's time to make changes before your health is lost.  If you would like to discuss your hopes for health with us, please stop in.  We would love to help you.  If we are not the answer we can help you find what you are looking for.   We want to help you get back to life!

Let's get educated together!  Come check out our library at the office.  We have books, DVD's and classes offered each week for FREE.

We are here to serve you and help you find Hope, Healing, Health!

Retired Army Brigadier General Finds Relief from Fibromyalgia Pain with Chiropractic Care

Becky Halstead recently spoke at the Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association's Spring Conference in Omaha, NE. Halstead is a retired Army Brigadier General, who served our country with 27 years of armed forces service. Becky struggled with the painful symptoms of her disease for several years, before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2004. Since there is no cure, medical doctors immediately began to try and treat Halstead's growing list of fibromyalgia symptoms. As with most traditional medical thought, prescription drugs were the proffered solution.  By 2008, taking numerous medications, daily, and still suffering from the life-altering pain of fibromyalgia, General Halstead retired from the Army.  Doctors had offered her little hope, for a change in her condition.  "You're not going to have good days, you're just going to have days."¹

After her retirement, Becky discovered chiropractic and began learning that chiropractors are not just "back doctors", as is the common misconception, but doctors of the nervous system. Chiropractic relieves pressure on nerves that are pinched or compressed by subluxated vertebrae.  Every organ and system in our body is connected to the brain by an intricate network of nerves, and all of those nerves must ultimately run through the spinal column to reach the brain.  A misaligned (subluxated) vertebra, or a disc ( the cushion between vertebrae) that is inflamed or damaged, pinches or puts pressure on the nearby nerve, interrupting the normal signal to the brain, often signaling pain instead.  Where, and to what extent, that pain is experienced, depends on the nerve being compressed.  That is why patients can see a chiropractor to gain relief from problems as varied as migraine headaches to shingles, the common flu to PMS, low back pain to colic, or allergies to carpal tunnel syndrome.  Whatever symptoms present in our bodies, God has built in a wondrous system to tell us, first, "Hey, there's a problem." and then secondly, to prompt us to take action that allows our bodies to heal, as He designed them to do.  Doctors of Chiropractic are skilled in assessing pain and inflammation to determine where subluxations have occurred in the spine and subsequently, where a nerve is being injured.  With appropriate and consistent chiropractic care, the subluxated vertebra can be realigned, taking pressure off the nerve and allowing the body to begin to function properly and heal as it was designed to.

As mentioned previously, General Halstead was taking between eight and ten prescription medications, when she retired in 2008, without very favorable results.  Within one year of completing semi-monthly chiropractic visits, Becky Halstead's pain has decreased from a daily 9 or 10, to 2 or 3, with some days being as low as 1.  All this without the use of medications. That's right.  She is now, prescription-free.  She has found relief and hope through chiropractic care and it has become her new mission to share her experience, and that hope, with others.  I encourage you to read the full write-up on her talk at the conference, in this World Herald article and see how her idea of what it means to be healthy, has changed.  I'd also like to leave you with some final thoughts.

Are there any medications you take regularly that are simply masking symptoms without getting to the root cause of your health issue?  Maybe you are even taking a medication to reduce the symptoms and side effects caused by another medication.  If there was a safe, natural alternative that addressed the cause for your pain or illness, wouldn't it make sense to use it, instead of altering your body's responses, and hiding problems with yet another drug?  Chiropractic IS that safe, natural alternative.

Hackbart Chiropractic has many educational resources and materials available to our patients. We even host Chiropractic Care Classes each Monday evening, at 6 pm, to provide helpful information and answer questions.  Many of our patients have recently been utilizing our lending library to check out a DVD called Doctored, that discusses much of the misinformation about Chiropractic and the misguided, "mainstream" thinking that prescriptions and OTC medications are a better option.  We'd love to have you borrow a copy or stop by the office to meet the doctors and ask any questions you may have.

Wishing you hope, health and healing!  Have a great day!

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¹Healey, Katy. "Retired General Becky Halstead Speaks at Nebraska Chiropractic Convention." Omaha.com. Omaha World Herald, 16 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.