Chronic Fatigue: Can a Chiropractor Help?

Chronic fatigue affects millions of people around this world. This condition has recently been accepted as an official medical condition, and it can be disruptive to day-to-day life. That said, chiropractic care is a promising treatment solution for chronic fatigue and may help patients gain higher energy levels. 

What Is Chronic Fatigue?

Chronic fatigue, or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is a condition that causes severe and persistent fatigue. This condition is unlike other types of fatigue in that it can’t be pinpointed as a symptom of a different, underlying health condition. Continue reading

4 Super-Healers in Your Kitchen

Health conscious people might be spending more time in their kitchens for reasons beyond cooking. Believe it or not, your kitchen can give you ready access to many herbs and spices that come with lots of healing properties. If you find alternative healing interesting, you should check out the following list.

1. Turmeric

If you love curry, then good health isn’t far away! After all, one of its ingredients – turmeric – is rich in curcumin, an anti-inflammatory agent. The John Hopkins University School of Medicine conducted a small clinical trial, and the results were rather inspiring. They found that curcumin combined with a small amount of quercetin can shrink colon polyps. Another 2006 study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease stated the efficacy of curcumin in clearing the brain of the plaques associated with this disease.

Turmeric

2. Ginger

An age-old remedy, ginger possesses powerful healing properties. An NCBI article titled The Amazing and Mighty Ginger talks about scientific evidence of ginger’s health benefits. Research shows that ginger blocks the effects of serotonin to prevent stomach upset from sources like motion sickness, chemotherapy, and pregnancy. It may lower blood pressure and help to deal with arthritis.

Ginger

3. Garlic

Garlic has been used for its therapeutic properties for centuries. According to a research review in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, high garlic consumption is related to the reduced risk of colorectal, ovarian, and other cancers. Studies show that garlic contains over 70 active phytochemicals that decrease high blood pressure.

garlic

4. Honey

Honey comes packed with several wonderful ingredients that make it a dependable natural healing agent. It is rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, phenolics, and Vitamins C and E.

Honey

Healthy eating is important for healthy living. However, you must always consult with your doctor before you adopt any dietary changes. Contact our team of experts at Florida Wellness Medical Group to begin your nutrition and wellness program.

5 Ways Drinking More Water Can Improve Your Well-Being

Water is life. There are more reasons than one why it is called so. Besides quenching thirst, water is needed for growing crops, cooking, and keeping the environment sanitized. That’s not all –water can even solve a number of your life’s little, nagging problems like weight gain, loss of memory, and lack of concentration. Here is how sufficient water intake can help you enjoy your life to the fullest:

• A weak heart leads to many health issues. Drinking a sufficient amount of water (five glasses and more per day) can help you keep these ailments at bay. It also keeps you protected from certain types of cancer, namely, breast, colon and bladder cancers.

• Do those ugly bulges refuse to budge even after hours of exercising and months of dieting? Don’t give up; boost up your metabolism naturally by increasing your per-day water intake. Drinking water can perk up your body’s ability to burn fat. By just adding 17 ounces more water to your daily water consumption, you can increase your body’s natural fat-burning capacity by as much as 30 percent.

• Migraines can be debilitating– both physically and emotionally. By adding six cups (1.5 liters) of water to your usual daily water intake, you can experience 21 fewer hours of pain.

• Oxygen helps your brain to function at its optimum efficiency. One way of supplying your brain the requisite amount of oxygen is by drinking plenty of water – at least eight to 10 glasses per day. A high level of hydration can improve your cognitive performance by as much as 30 percent while even a little dehydration can affect your mental performance severely.

• How you perform professionally can have an impact on your mental and physical well-being. While poor performance may bring on more stress, the opposite brings a lot of satisfaction. Drink enough water to keep issues like work-time fatigue and short-time memory loss at bay.

So, you can see how some of your life’s little problems can be solved easily by merely increasing your daily water intake. We can tell you about many more natural remedies and treatment options for a variety of ailments. Has any nagging condition been bothering you lately? Just give a call to Florida Wellness Medical Group or get in touch through our website for consultation.

Why Do Women Need More Sleep Than Men?

A good night’s sleep allows your brain to recover and repair itself. Naturally, the more you work your brain, the more time you should give it to recover from fatigue. How? By sleeping for a longer time. A new study from England’s Loughborough University that states that women need more sleep than men seems to build on this simple thesis.

This study finds men can manage with less sleep because women’s brains perform more complex activities than their male counterparts. This research report says that since women are usually multitaskers, they naturally put their brains to more complex use. In order to perform higher amounts of activity, women’s brains work over a larger region than men’s brains do, thus translating into a greater overall requirement for sleep.

So, how much more sleep does a woman need than a man? The study maintains that women need about 20 minutes more sleep per night than men. The research sheds some light on the male sleeping pattern as well, adding that men who perform cerebral jobs that involve lots of lateral thinking and decision-making will need more sleep than men engaged in not-so-demanding professions.

Women’s Brains Are Different from Men’s Brains

A 2014 University of Pennsylvania study conducted on 949 volunteers revealed that as far as women are concerned, there is a strong connection between the two hemispheres of the brain. This is not the case with men – their brains are well-connected but only within each hemisphere. This explains the superior multi-tasking ability in most women. Thanks to their different brain configuration, men are better at focusing deeply on one task at a time, while the female brain is better at performing multiple functions simultaneously. Women, while multi-tasking, process information about five times faster than men do. However, this efficiency of the female brain comes at a cost; they get damaged more easily than male brains. Also, the female brain cannot repair itself as quickly as the male brain can. That is why the daily recovery and repairing process through sleep is so important for women.

Attention ladies! Are you getting enough sleep? If not, consult one of our expert physicians to help you out. Apart from wellness programs and holistic remedies, we also offer consultation on lifestyle modification. Get in touch with us to enjoy better sleep and a healthier life.

Beat the PMS Blues with These Five Foods

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a medical condition that three out of every four menstruating women have experienced at some point in their lives. For women with severe PMS symptoms, it is a major source of dread and frustration.

Does PMS wreak havoc with your life during those two weeks leading to your period? Even if it does, you don’t have to let it get the better of you. There is a simple, yet practical, solution to avoid these pesky problems – just watch what you eat. These five foods will help you outsmart your PMS challenges:

Eggs: Food craving is a common symptom of PMS, and by including eggs in your daily diet you can avoid overeating during those days. Eggs are a source of healthy protein and fat and keep you satiated for a long time. Start your day with a protein-rich breakfast with eggs to avoid binging throughout the day.

Low-fat Yogurt: Beat your PMS hunger pangs with low-fat yogurt. It provides a healthy, guilt-free alternative to junk food. Being a rich source of calcium and protein, it also helps beat the other PMS symptoms such as mood swings, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and joint pain.

Leafy Greens: Those acne flare-ups signal the monthly progression of PMS. Blame it on the crazy play of hormones during those weeks and eat more greens to deal with them. Fill up your plate with leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce. The fat-soluble vitamins in these greens will help outsmart the hormones and drive away your complexion woes.

Broccoli: Constipation and diarrhea are two nuisances that can add insult to injury during those PMS days. Fight them with broccoli. Rich in a range of healthy nutrients such as calcium, Vitamins A, C, B6, and E, potassium, and magnesium, this super-food helps to keep PMS hormones in check. Simultaneously, it helps to regulate estrogen levels with its high dietary fiber content. What’s the result? You get a healthy digestive system and a break from constipation and diarrhea attacks.

Dark Chocolate: When it comes to dealing with the PMS blues, dark chocolates work like magic. Thanks to its endorphin-boosting qualities and rich antioxidant contents, these decadent treats – eaten in moderation of course – help to boost blood flow to your brain. This in turn helps you fight PMS-induced fatigue.

Many women have reportedly benefited from trying these dietary tricks. Why don’t you? However, if you are unable to manage these syndromes even after trying these remedies, we highly recommend you visit a doctor as soon as possible. Consider visiting one of our clinics where our expert physicians can help you out.

Keep Diabetes at Bay with Chocolate

You wouldn’t generally put a diabetes patient and chocolate in the same room.

Or would you?

What does modern medical research say? Let’s find out more in this blog.

What Is Diabetes?

To fight diabetes, you must know what causes the disease.

Your body is a machine. Just like any other machine your body needs fuel; in this case, energy.  And how does it achieve that? Through the typical process of digestion, the glucose (sugar) in food is converted to energy. The hormone insulin regulates this all-important conversion process. We are likely to suffer from diabetes if our pancreas stops producing insulin in adequate amounts.  An inadequate release of insulin hampers the process of glucose metabolism. That is why, for people with diabetes, it is important to restrict their carbohydrate intake. Consumption of fewer carbs helps to manage the rise in blood sugar levels.

Fighting Diabetes – Chocolate Is a Yummy Weapon

Recent studies have revealed that the consumption of one medium sized chocolate bar a day can go a long way in keeping you protected against diabetes.

Sounds contradictory, right?

Well, here’s the explanation.

Chocolate,– specifically dark chocolate — when consumed in restricted quantity every day, can protect your system from a condition called insulin resistance.  Due to a variety of lifestyle factors, body cells undergo several damaging changes, which eventually lead to insulin dysfunction.  Antioxidants called flavonoids can help you avoid these kinds of cellular damages, and thus keep you protected against ‘insulin resistance’. The cocoa, from which chocolate is made, is a rich source of flavonoids.

Why Only Dark Chocolates?

In order to enjoy the anti-diabetic benefits of flavonoids, you must consume only the plain, dark chocolates. When mixed with milk and sugar, cocoa loses much of its anti-oxidant benefits. Dark and plain varieties, on the other hand, can push the antioxidant levels in blood by up to 20 percent. As a result, you achieve a lower level of insulin resistance, and your body is better equipped to regulate the glucose level in the blood.

There is a wide variety of super foods that can help you fight diabetes. Chocolates are perhaps the most delicious among them. So, consume dark chocolate in moderation to enjoy their anti-diabetic benefits to the fullest.

3 Tips to Minimize Thyroid Symptoms

It’s amazing how that small thyroid gland located at the base of the neck can affect your overall well-being. Both under and over secretion of the T3 and T4 hormones can create a series of thyroid malfunction symptoms, including weight fluctuations, lower energy level and an unusual metabolism rate. According to the National Women’s Health Information Center, approximately 20 million Americans suffer from some kind of thyroid disorder; that’s one in every 13 people. In many cases, patients need regular medication to keep the hormone levels under control. However, proper diet and exercise can complement the treatment process. Here are three tips to reduce thyroid symptoms:

1. Exercise Regularly

An active lifestyle is very effective in addressing thyroid issues. However, you must consult your physician before beginning any exercise regimen because the intensity and type of exercises needed vary from one patient to another. Regular exercise helps maintain body weight, balances the metabolism rate, and works as a mood booster. Activities like jogging, walking, cycling, and yoga can help you fight the symptoms of thyroid issues.

2. Eat the Right Food

Thyroid patients need specific minerals and vitamins to stay healthy. So, the next time you visit a grocery store, look for food items like haddock, shrimp, kelp, salmon, mushrooms, and eggs. These items contain minerals like selenium, iodine and zinc along with vitamins A, B and C. Take more iodine as it’s the most important mineral for thyroid patients.

3. Avoid Bottling Up Your Emotions

Stress can cause both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. It is essential to control your stress levels to ensure that your thyroid functions correctly. Apart from meditation and other de-stressing exercises, get enough sleep and consider therapy to break your particular stress responses. Pent up emotions are never good for your health. Effective practices are to journal your mental and emotional state or talk about it to a trusted friend, partner or colleague. Expressing your feelings is the key to balanced emotional health.

The right thyroid treatment begins with the right diagnosis. Visit our clinic to discuss the lifestyle changes and perhaps the medications that you need to keep thyroid symptoms under control.

3 Unusual Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

You have often heard that exercise is good for your health. Sweating out at the gym gives you the perfect abs, toned muscles and bulging biceps. But did you know that the advantages of exercising go beyond just delighting you with a toned tummy? Studies prove that regular workouts have some surprising mental health benefits. Here are the three most important ones.

1. Boosts Self-confidence

Workouts will make you feel better about yourself. You’ll experience a substantial boost in your self-confidence when your body gains a better shape and starts looking attractive. Irrespective of one’s age, size, weight or gender, exercise will improve an individual’s perception of his or her self-worth.

2. Reduces Stress

Stressed out after a long and hectic day at work? Fret not. Go for a walk or hit the gym to de-stress yourself. When you workout, it increases the norepinephrine levels in your body. Norepinephrine is an organic chemical that functions in the brain and controls the way your mind responds to stress. So, what are you waiting for? Head straight to the gym or simply do some freehand exercises.

3. Improves Brain Power

Several studies show that cardiovascular workouts help in neurogenesis, that is the development of new brain cells. This boosts your overall brain performance. Studies also show that a proper workout increases the BDNF (a brain-derived protein) levels in your body to help you think, decide and learn better. Exercising offers some amazing mental health benefits to you and your family. Our experts recommend that you take up the right exercise to stay healthy. Visit one of our wellness centers and let one of our Nutrition and Wellness consultants help you to improve your overall health.

Acupuncture: How It Works, Who Benefits and What to Expect?

Status: Say goodbye to pain with acupuncture.

Acupuncture originated 2,500 years ago in China, and has been effective in diagnosing, preventing and treating a number of ailments. It’s also used to improve the overall health of patients. Acupuncture is the process of inserting very small needles through a person’s skin at precise points. Our providers will insert the needles at varying depths to provide several therapeutic benefits, including pain relief to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

How Does It Work?

There are pathways or meridians found in the human body. Through the 350 acupuncture points in your body, these pathways and energy flows are accessed. Our providers will insert tiny needles into these points using the right combinations. Disproportion of the forces causes various diseases. And, with acupuncture therapy, energy flow will be restored to provide the right balance. Your muscles, nerves and connective tissues are stimulated, improving blood circulation and increasing your body’s natural ability to fight pain.

What Can You Expect?

Depending on the type of the ailment, you will experience complete, partial or instant relief from painful symptoms once the initial treatment is over. You may feel relaxed or experience a sudden boost in your energy levels after the initial treatment.

Who Can Benefit?

Acupuncture before or after a surgery may benefit patients in alleviating pain. Studies show that there is a significant reduction in the use of strong painkillers required by patients following a surgery. It helps in lessening indigestion symptoms in pregnant women. And, if done on a periodic basis, acupuncture also benefits people suffering from respiratory conditions, neurological issues, gynecological problems, fatigue, emotional problems, asthma and sinusitis.

Duration of Treatment

An acupuncture session may last for 20 to 30 minutes. However, it may last a little longer depending on the ailment and the specific condition of a patient.

Visit Florida Wellness Medical Group if you need acupuncture treatment. Come see us for an initial consult, evaluation and treatment for only $49. You can also include the benefits of herbal remedies to your treatment plan. Based on your diagnosis, we can ship two such remedies every month for just $50 (including shipping cost).

Disclaimer:
THE PATIENT AND ANY OTHER PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PAYMENT HAS A RIGHT TO REFUSE TO PAY, CANCEL PAYMENT, OR BE REIMBURSED FOR PAYMENT FOR ANY SERVICE, EXAM, OR TREATMENT WHICH IS PERFORMED AS A RESULT OF OR WITHIN 72 HOURS OF RESPONDING TO THE FREE OR DISCOUNTED SERVICE, EXAM, OR TREATMENT. UP TO A $249 VALUE.

Power Walking is a Great Work-Out – Do It Right

A team of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh recently revealed that brisk walking for 30 to 60 minutes a day can help overweight persons to lose weight even without making any changes to their lifestyle habits. This is good news for those who simply hate dieting. It is free, an enjoyable alternative to complicated cardio-routine, and does not require expensive gym membership. As walking becomes a part of your daily routine, it slowly melts away your extra pounds, and also gives you an emotional high. Even if 20 minutes are all that you can squeeze out of your busy schedule, you will be slimmer and happier in a couple of month’s time. All you need to do is walk right, walk faster and for longer.

Here’s how to walk your way to a slimmer waist and a higher emotional energy:

Better your Technique

Power walking is the key to quick weight loss. To do it correctly, stand straight, but maintain a relaxed posture with your arms by your sides. To boost up the core muscles in the abdomen area, pull your naval inside, towards your spine. When you step forward, move your arms in the opposite direction. That means, when you take a step forward with your right foot, your right arm should move back. Focus your eyes straight at a distance. Keep your hands in a cup position, don’t clench. Maintain a rhythmic breathing pattern – breath in and out with each step.

Try Different Terrains

We hardly notice it, but we tend to expend different levels of energy when we walk on different surfaces. When you climb up a steep incline, heartbeats are likely to increase by 20 percent (an excellent cardio exercise). When going downhill, on the other hand, it is your leg muscles that will have to work a lot to counterbalance the gravity (a lovely way to fit into those super-mini shorts). You will also burn more energy when you walk the softer surfaces. That’s why walking the muddy ground or sandy beaches help you burn calories faster. Walking on the cobblestoned or rocky surfaces is even more beneficial – it does not only help burn more calories, but also regulates blood pressure

Add Variety to Walking Styles

To eliminate boredom, try some alternative styles. Try, for example, Nordic walking that requires you to walk with ski-like poles. Poles make you walk faster, and subsequently help you burn more calories. On those bad weather days, walk on treadmills. With its flat surface, a treadmill may not help you burn fat as quickly as hard roads or hilly terrains, but it is good for your joints. Mall walking is also a good exercise for those who prefer a fun way to workout.

Walking is a fantastic exercise. Keep adding duration and intensity to your walking routine and you are likely to see the results in less than three months.