As flu season approaches, people you know – maybe even you – make the annual trip to the local pharmacy, clinic, grocery store, church or school to receive the flu shot.

In fact, this year nearly 150 million doses of flu vaccine have been produced, which is the highest number ever available. Yet, the chances of a flu shot being effective in any given year are about as high as your chances of pulling a needle from a haystack. This is because flu shots only protect against certain strains of the flu virus. These strains mutate rapidly, and scientists can only make educated guesses about which strains will be most prevalent this year. Opting to receive the flu shot is not only to gamble with its effectiveness, but also your health because of the ingredients. It’s a dangerous cocktail of ingredients including the known-cancer causing agent, formaldehyde! Are these things you want inside your body or your child's body: Formaldehyde? Aluminum? Mercury? Antifreeze? Furthermore, each dose contains more than 250 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit for mercury! It’s time word got out that if you have received a flu shot, you were injected with the above toxins. And for what? Even if you get a flu shot, you can still get the flu, or flu-like symptoms, because it’s anyone’s guess which flu viruses will be in your area. Imagine a life free of sickness, medications and invasive medical procedures. IT’S POSSIBLE! (and a lot less expensive) Our office focuses on care which allows the body to function and perform at its highest level. From boosting the immune system to increasing communication between brain and body, Chiropractic is the best choice for long term health and disease prevention.

Do you have a gently used coat, hat, gloves, sweaters, or other winter clothing you no longer use? Are you heading to a clothing store before your next appointment? Please consider bringing some winter clothing items to donate to homeless veterans. We will be collecting items until Thanksgiving. Thank you for your help!

Please be aware that our office will be closing for the Thanksgiving holidays. We will be close November 27th and 28th.

Have you attended a home health class yet? This class is geared to new patients and long term patients needing a refresher course in home care. The next class will be held at our office on Tuesday, December 9th, at 6:30pm. You need only worry about how many people to bring! Because we learn techniques to help others, we ask that you bring family, friends, even co-workers. Anyone that is able to work on you (and you on them) outside of adjusting time. Dinner will be served for all who attend. Make sure to let a staff member know how many you'll be bringing at your next appointment!

Please consider helping us with our adopt a family holiday drive! Our office has adopted 2 families to purchase gifts for. We will put their needs/wants on our tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. Everyone is encouraged to pick one need (or more if your family wishes) and bring that item back to our office within 2 weeks. Thank you for participating!

"If the ‘germ theory of disease’ were correct, there’d be no one living to believe it." – BJ Palmer

FLU VACCINE POSTS DISMAL PERFORMANCE
Volume 13 - Issue 31

The results are in regarding the effectiveness of flu vaccinations for the year 2007, and the statistics are not very good for the drug companies. During this year, the effectiveness of the vaccine in protecting Americans dropped way down to just 44 percent.

Not only did the effectiveness of the shots drop, but so did public demand for the number of doses produced. Ac- cording to information released by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, 18 million of the 121 mil- lion produced for the 2006-07 flu season went unused. The following year for the 2007-08 season, 27 million of the 140 million doses produced where never delivered.

Given this dismal rate of success, and with more and more information coming out on the potentially harmful side effects of vaccinations, wouldn’t it seem logical that doctors and government advisors would be guiding Americans to alternative flu-fighting solutions?
Unfortunately this is not the case, mainly because flu shots are a multi-billion dollar annual business in the United States and worldwide. Consider this projection: By the year 2012, the global vaccine market is expected to top $23.8 billion.

What the government and doctors did was get together with drug company representatives to see if they could come up with ways to sell the public on getting more flu shots. The American Medical Association, together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a 2-day “National Influenza Vaccine Summit” that was also attended by representatives of the five pharmaceutical companies that sell flu vaccine in the United States.

One idea that came out of this conference was that doctors should become much more aggressive in “suggesting” to their patients that they get their flu shots. One attending physician said this is how his office became more proactive in making sure their patients received the shot. “When the patient signs in, the lady who is taking their information asks, ‘Have you had the flu vaccine this year?,’ and if the answer is ‘No,’ we say, “Well, today you are getting it.’”
One such aggressive effort was naming the week following Thanksgiving “National Influenza Vaccination Week” and urging people to get their flu shot. Regardless of such hype, Americans didn’t respond to this public information campaign according to CDC. Public use did not increase during this time.

It’s good to see that Americans did not respond to this added pressure to get their flu shots and that drug compa- nies were left with millions of unused vaccine doses in their warehouses.

Americans would be wise to learn more about non-drugging means to protect themselves during the flu season. Simply staying well-rested, well-hydrated by drinking ample water, and keeping their body defense mechanisms up through good nutrition and additional vitamin intake as needed, could offer the best defense against getting the flu

The 1918 influenza pandemic has been labeled as one of the most devastating outbreaks in the history of the world, with deaths estimated between 20 and 40 million people.

Over 675,000 American citizens lost their lives due to this epidemic. Why is this information significant? National figures show that 1,142 chiropractors cared for 46,394 influenza patients during 1918, with a loss of 54 patients – one out of every 859. In New York City, 950 out of 10,000 cases died with medical methods while 25 out of 10,000 died using drug-less methods. Yes, the medical profession was seeing a majority of the worst of the worst; however, one of the greatest statistics backing chiropractic care comes from the state of Oklahoma. There were 233 cases in which the medical doctors had cared for patients and eventually pronounced them as “lost” or beyond hope… chiropractors took care of all 233 with only 25 deaths. In order to achieve these dramatic results, you must not only get adjusted, but also make healthy changes in your lifestyle so your body can at least have an opportunity to heal. A few simple steps can maximize the effects of your adjustments. Eat more green, leafy vegetables with every meal, take a 20 minute walk outside every day, and have a more optimistic view on life. The purpose of our office is to reach as many people as possible in their quest for natural health. Will you help us with our purpose? Do you know people who need to boost their immune system? Talk with a staff member today!

On Tuesday, November 11th, we will be holding our next home health care class at 6:30 pm here at the office. We want to help our patients feel better and be able to help others by showing you ways to help your body hold adjustments through reducing pain and stress. This class is especially important for our new patients and long term patients who haven't had this training in awhile so need a refresher. We welcome everyone to our class but we do ask that you are registered ahead of time so we can make sure there is space and enough dinner for everyone. Bring as many people as you can to this exciting and helpful class and help us help others by giving the gift of information and health. Just let us know how many people to expect and lets make it a party!

Join us for our doctor supervised workout class! We will be having Dr. Moss show you the proper ways to work out in order to rehabilitate and/or prevent injury to yourself. Class space is limited so make sure you sign up today! You can come by yourself but bringing your work out partner is always more fun. This class will be held on Saturday, November 8th, from 10-11am at Fitness World Ankeny, located behind our office. If you are interested in joining us, please let Wendy know.

"Regular chiropractic adjustments go hand-in-hand with good health." ~ Peter Fonda

MORE PEOPLE SEEKING CHIROPRACTIC FOR BETTER HEALTH, DISEASE PREVENTION
Volume 13 - Issue 13

People who think that Chiropractic care is all about adjusting the musculoskeletal system might be in for a bit of a surprise. According to a world-wide survey of Chiropractic patients, more than 40 per- cent of patient visits were initiated for the purposes of health enhancement and/or disease prevention. This statistic comes from a recent survey aimed at finding out why people engage the services of a chiropractor. Researchers set out to explore the extent to which consumers seek wellness care from chiropractors, especially when their practice methods are known to include periodic evaluations and interventions to maintain wellness and to prevent disease.

Survey data on Chiropractic usage was collected from 1,316 patients in 27 different offices and clinics in the United States, Europe and Australia. Each person completed a one-page survey regarding their reason for seeking care. “Optimizing health” and “preventing disease” were indicated by over 40 percent of the people surveyed as their reason for being in the chiropractor’s workplace. It was interesting to note that the results of this survey varied to a great extent from earlier findings presented by the World Federation of Chiropractic in April 2004.

This survey indicated that less than 5-10 percent of patients sought care for non-musculoskeletal conditions. One reason presented by researchers for this significant increase in wellness and disease prevention visits had to do with better patient education and awareness of Chiropractic methods. Another had to do with the fact that the surveys were completed in the offices of chiropractors who practice a particular form of evaluation and treatment known as the Sacro Occipital Technique. Sacro Occipital involves a complete spinal evaluation based on research that all provable illnesses stem from a distortion or a partial dislocation in the back.

Researchers considered the possibility that patients in this setting could be better educated to the prevention possibilities Chiropractic affords than other patients. If this point of the more informed consumer is indeed true, researchers suggested that Chiropractic educators and promoters should take note. Creating more awareness in consumers and emphasizing the fact that a chiropractor could play a significant role in a person’s life as a primary care physician are important pieces of information to get out to the public.

You've seen the abundance of the pink ribbon, right?

It's truly difficult to escape these days. But, what does it really mean? The widely recognized pink ribbon symbol is not regulated by any agency and does not necessarily mean it effectively combats the breast cancer epidemic. Some products sport pink ribbons to try to communicate that they are “healthy” and don’t contribute to breast cancer at all, such as a number of natural health and beauty products.

Other products have a pink ribbon in order to indicate that the company supports breast cancer programs even if the company’s contributions are not tied to the purchases of the specific product bearing the ribbon. Many companies have sold pink ribbon products that are linked to increased risk of breast cancer. There are companies profiting from building a reputation based on their concern about breast cancer, while their very products contribute to cancer. Some of the earliest cause-marketing companies were well-known cosmetics companies that continue to sell cosmetics containing chemicals that have been linked to breast cancer.

While we can all appreciate the need for awareness of disease, we need to make sure that our buying habits truly support what we stand for. Instead of deciding to purchase a product with a pink ribbon, take some time to research what that company truly supports. The purpose of our office is to reach as many people as possible in their quest for natural health so they may help others. Education of products, practices, and choices is the first step to true health.

Have you attended a home health class yet? This class is geared to new patients and long term patients needing a refresher course in home care. This month's class will be held at our office on Tuesday, November 11th, at 6:30pm. You need only worry about how many people to bring! Because we learn techniques to help others, we ask that you bring family, friends, even co-workers. Anyone that is able to work on you (and you on them) outside of adjusting time. Dinner will be served for all who attend. Make sure to let a staff member know how many you'll be bringing at your next appointment!

Please be aware that our office will be closing for the Thanksgiving holidays. We will be close November 27th and 28th.

Also, please remember to set your clocks back one hour this Saturday night for daylight savings time. An extra hour of sleep? Yes, please!

Chemicals That Can Cause Breast Cancer
Volume 17 - Issue 107

Although no one has figured out what causes breast cancer, there are several risk factors that are widely acknowledged. High exposure to certain estrogens is an important one, and 50 percent of breast cancers are actually estrogen-dependant. What causes high exposure to estrogen, and is it possible to control it? The level of estrogens in our body can, like all hormones, increase due to a number of factors.

These include:
•Alcohol
•Birth control pills
•Excess body weight
•Diet
•Exercise
•Hormone treatment
•And Environmental estrogens.

Enviromental Estrogens - Often Over looked, But Important The last of these, ‘environmental estrogens,’ also known as xenoestrogens ,xeno being the Greek word for ‘foreign,’ are among the most common causes of high exposure to estrogen, and among the least considered. There are natural, plant-sourced xenoestrogens, which aren’t too much of a problem, and synthetic. The synthetic xenoestrogens are problematic because they are not easily broken down and tend to lodge in the fat cells, including breast fat. As you are exposed to more and more of them, they accumulate in the body and cause problems. How Are We Exposed t o Syntetic Xenoestrogens? Unfortunately, synthetic xenoestrogens are found just about everywhere. In pesticides, food preservatives, detergents, plastics, skin and personal care products like shampoos, toothpaste, mouthwash–they’re even found in the linings of the cans that contain our food!

You’ll recognize some of the names:
•DDT
•BHT
•BHA
•nonyl-andoctaphenol
•BPA
•Phthalates
•Red dye#3 (in food)
•Formaldehyde
And more.

What is the Solution to High Estrogen Exposure? For the first list, there are the obvious solutions. Stay away from alcohol and birth control pills. Keep your weight down, exercise, find a healthcare practitioner who will help with hormonal problems without throwing things out of balance and causing high exposure, and eat well – that means fresh food, preferably organic. But if we can also get rid of the outside influences – the synthetic xenoestrogens – we have a much better chance of keeping our estrogen exposure in a normal range. You can control your intake of xenoestrogens by eating fresh food that does not contain preservatives and other food additives, food coloring, and soon. Also, it’s vital to use natural cleaning and personal care products that do not contain toxic chemicals. With a little Internet research you can discover all the details, but the rule of thumb is ‘stay away from synthetic chemicals, and stick to the healthy alternatives provided by mother nature.’