This word has obvious negative connotations about it, but handling it quickly rather than avoiding it, is one of the best things you can do to ensure good health and wellness in your life.  I’ll be honest, I am naturally not one to confront.  I am a pretty easy going guy outside of the office, but I have learned over the years as a business owner and a doctor that confronting issues as soon as possible avoids accumulating stress in your body.  Like a cup filling up with water, eventually, you won’t have room for more and the cup “runneth” over!  In life this could lead to a multitude of health issues such as loss of sleep, headaches, irritability, neck and back pain, etc, not to mention the actual issue itself that is unresolved, sure to be getting worse and to come back again for you to run away from.

Just this past week, I had to call a practice member’s Medical doctor to explain to them their negligence on a very important issue.  Our phone conversation was not pleasant, especially as the other doctor had to listen to my assertive display of the facts, but in the end, they knew my position and I knew theirs, and the patient was able to decide for themselves what they wanted to do.  I was, in turn, able to focus on the next adjustment without my mind wondering on the issue. I could fall asleep easier at night.

Too often I think we as a culture are prone to take the easy way out of sticky circumstances.  Ask yourself today: “what issue is bothering me that, if I actually confront it, will, while causing a temporary uncomfortable feeling or situation, actually create a sense of abundance and freedom in your life.    The answer could be related to explaining to a superior at work your TRUE feelings, or disciplining your child the way you know you should but the pain of crying or fighting stops you. And of course we could also be talking about confronting yourself on your wellness routine….the way you eat, sleep, or exercise.

My challenge to you is to try to confront at least one issue a day.  That means in one year you will have addressed 365 different issues in your life that are negatively affecting you!  How different would your life be? This exercise is like an emotional detox….the first few days may be rough, but then you start feeling more energy by the freedom you have given back to your life, trading short term pain for long term gain.

Let’s confront the truth together in 2012!!!!!

Much love,

Dr. McKinley

That being said, I do want to spend a little time examining the following question:  “What symptom is bad for you?”  I generally ask this question at some point in all of our lectures, and I get great dialogue and creative answers.  You see, while headaches, fever, insomnia, depression, muscle aches, anxiety, and other symptoms may all “FEEL” bad, they are ALL very SMART alarms and/ or actions the body is innately making as part of a healing process.  Some of you may say, but how is depression good for you?  Well, I would counter, if I found out today a close family member died suddenly, and I felt no despair or depression but instead happiness, then THAT would be bad.  I didn’t say I like depression or sadness, but there are moments in one’s life, where that is the healthy response for the body.  This is the same with a runny nose and fever.  Sure, it feels bad, but it is a process the body must go through to achieve wellness. 

 For too often, we are our own worst enemy, because many of the teachings of our parents, and of western medicine, has taught us that SYMPTOMS are bad, and we should mask them as soon as possible with a chemical to FEEL better.  We see this in kids too!  Before trying natural processes like chiropractic care, parents are accepting diagnosis like asthma and ADHD as inherent problems with their kids , and are resigned to the fact that  their child must be on side effect ridden medications for life!  As babies, we overmedicate young immune systems with more vaccines than any other country in the world, and give a million rounds of antibiotics for ear infections.  All the while, the body was simply doing what it was designed or evolved to do.   

Anyone who exercises will tell you there is a “passage of pain.”  At some point during the exercise in order to grow, to improve, to get better, our bodies hit a point where we become very uncomfortable, to the point where you don’t know if you can go on.  It is at and beyond that point where our greatest growth takes place.  The body is going through the exact same thing when we have symptoms.  It doesn’t mean you are sick, it means your body is healing and getting stronger.  But, unfortunately, the majority of us don’t look these symptoms as a good thing.  We are trained from the time we are kids to avoid discomfort, to avoid symptoms.  So as adults, when we can’t handle life’s stresses, so we pump up with Paxil or Ambien to sleep, or Vicodin for pain, or Xanax for anxiety, or any of the other common presciptions out there.  And then we wonder why the average adult takes 8 prescription meds by the age of 55 (yes, true statistic), and that our health care system is causing us to go broke.   

Ok, now let me make myself clear one more time.  I ALSO do not like to GET symptoms, but I appreciate their purpose and like to listen and respond naturally to their meaning.  This is why I love getting regular adjustments for my family and I, so we have a clear communication pathway to our cells, tissues, and organs through our healthy nervous system.  This provides for a stronger adaptation to the stressors of life and when we do have symptoms our response is always faster than those bodies who don’t have a fine tuning, allowing us to have a better, more appropriate response to life’s stresses – whether that is a virus, an accident, etc.  (And I know that many of you get this as well because every single days we hear stories of children and adults getting sick, or having pain, and their bodies fighting it off much much easier than in the past before they started getting adjusted.  It’s why we come to work each day!  So keep those stories coming!)

Much respect

Dr. M

The answer depends on your view of what health is.  If your view of health involves feeling good then obviously they were a bad thing.  I felt like crap!  But if you view health, as I do, as the optimum functioning of the body, then my symptoms were a very good thing.  They were signs that my body was doing what it needed to to fight off infection.  Lets take a look at each symptom and what positive effect they had on my body:

• fever – raising the body’s temperature in order to kill whatever organism was invading my body
• congestion and runny nose – the by products of the white blood cells attacking the improper organism as well as my body trapping them in the mucous membranes so as not to let them infect deeper
• headache, dizziness, and low energy – my body’s way of making me stay and bed, rest, and allow it to do its thing.
• My lingering cough – breaking up and expelling the products left over in my lungs from the body fighting the infection

Look, it sucks to get sick.  Believe me I would have much rather been in the office working, not lying in bed.  But over the long haul I am better off going through what I just went through – I know that my body can fight something off in a relatively short amount of time, the next time I’m exposed to it I have developed natural immunity to it, and I’m back in the office today rested and relaxed.  Getting sick was a good thing!!!

Another good thing is Dr. M’s Birthday Bash this Friday at Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Bistro!  Everyone who has RSVP’d thank you, if they haven’t already, you will be receiving a call from Monica or Sarah confirming you and your guests.  We still have a few seats left for anyone else who wants to attend.  Please call us today with your name and your number of guests so we can seat you.  It’s gonna be a great time!!!

We have experience this turn of events as adults no doubt, such as our first flight in an airplane, 4G cell phones, or maybe even the idea of the internet itself.  At other times it might not be so obvious.  For example, for me to watch a patient/member of our practice see the this truth with the principle of chiropractic care and the adjustment for the achievement of optimal health through improving the efficiency of the nerves that feed info back to the brain and communicate to all cells of the body.

Someone might not know how they gained control of a paralyzed leg by just getting adjustments, or they might not know how they stopped having years of migranes or asthma through seemingly simple chiropractic care.  Once it happened though, at that point, they Believe it to be true because of the results they see and feel.

You see, you don’t need to know exactly how chiropractic adjustments improve these things anymore than you need to know how Tylenol can cause kidney failure.  Once you see it happen, you believe it to be true.  You may even also go on to study exactly how it happens, but most will be satisfied with just seeing and feeling it, like Nico was with the remote contol.  Once you see it happen, you believe it, and that phenomenon is what then forever changes your actions because of a new belief system.

This country and our world in general need a much better belief system when it comes to health and wellness.  Like many of you reading this, we have seen the truth, and we feel a passionate need to keep spreading it.  Please help us do the same.  Without your voice, enough beliefs won’t change and people will continue to treat their health ills with more pain relievers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, drugs for cholesterol, asthma, acid reflux, allergies, asthma and more.  Better health through better chemistry isn’t working, but because most belief systems are the same, we continue to look for answers in the wrong places.

Keep Spreading the TRUTH,

Much respect,

Dr. McKinley

This year’s theme is “Challenge Yourself to Accomplish Something BIG this Summer!”

We’ve designed this bootcamp to help you do just that.  It will start August 9th and run through Sept 3rd.  Each week we will challenge you with three workouts (2 strength, 1 cardio) designed by McKinley Chiropractic and Windy City Crossfit to kick your butt!  In addition you’ll be able to choose up to 4 Yoga sessions provided by Om on the Range Yoga Studio to help you stretch out and recover.  We also add a little healthy fun with a kayaking excursion on the Chicago River.  Finally, for those of you who want to take it up even another level, we’re doing a second round of “Detox with Dr. Arthur” and giving all bootcamp participants $75 off a detox program.

This will be an unbelievable experience, but we do have to limit it to 30 participants. So please ask yourself if you want to accomplish something BIG this summer, and if the answer is yes – sign-up today!

The cost is only $40 (detox is seperate) and all proceeds  benefit the Non-Profit Chiropractic Organization who raises money to build wellness clinics in impoverished countries.

Reserve your spot today by clicking here!

One of our favorite patients, Meliza (whose testimonial video you can see under Success Stories), brought us in an article today from the Mayo Clinic talking about Integrative Medicine.  For those who don’t know the idea behind Integrative Medicine is to combine traditional medicine with “alternative” treatments to give patients better care.  We find this thought amusing because while Integrative Medicine may be a new buzzword in Allopathic medicine, chiropractic has been practicing it for over 100 years. We combine the best of all “treatments” including adjustments, exercise, nutritional change and supplementation, etc. in order to build up the whole person in health and wellness, not just treat the symptom. In fact, that is where allopathic “Integrative Medicine” fails.  Even though they are using different tools such as acupuncture, deep breathing/yoga, exercise, nutrition, even spinal manipulation  to treat symptoms, they are doing just that, treating symptoms.  The philosophy behind treatment (even though the treatment may have less side effects than medication) is still the same, and for that reason it will ultimately fail in promoting health and wellness.

What really struck me in reading the article was its closing paragraph.  The article basically tried to describe and sum-up a number of so-called “alternative” therapies including homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, nutritional supplemention, Reiki, Chiropractic, and others.  In talking about Integrative Medicine the article states, ” It’s not a question of using either conventional or complementary medicine.  It’s about using both the best of conventional medicine and the best of evidence-based complementary medicine.”  Two things about this sentence stand out to me.  One, the qualifier “evidence-based” in front of complementary medicine, and, two, the implication that conventional medicine is evidence based and therefore better (hence the use of the word complementary).

I want to speak a moment about evidence based medicine.  The definition of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) as defined by Sackett in the British Medical Journal is “”Evidence based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients…,” “integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research…,” and “the more thoughtful identification and compassionate use of individual patients’ predicaments, rights, and preferences in making clinical decisions about their care”.  EBM speaks to the clinician’s (doctor’s) decision making in regards to making care recommendations, by these definitions chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other “alternative” practitioners can be and are evidence based.

The implication in the article is that all medicine is evidence based and that all medical practitioners used EBM methodology in making their recommendations.   This is simply not the case.  One-fifth of all medications prescribed and one-half to three fourths of all children’s medications are prescribed off-label, meaning they have not been tested for the condition for which they are being prescribed.  Unfortunately, in most cases parents are not informed that this is happening.

It ultimately comes down to your doctor.  Is he or she approaching your health holistically, taking a look at your whole person, looking to find the ultimate cause of your disease or symptom, and is working with you to promote the in-born ability of your body to heal?  Or are they taking a “medicine by numbers” approach, treating just your symptoms or the number on your blood or lab work, and sending you on your way?  From our perspective one of these two choices is the true, integrative, evidence based approach and one is not.  Which one would you prefer?

We’d love to hear your comments on this article, please click below!

Farmers’ markets provide an educational, outdoor experience that is fun to share with friends and/or family members. I encourage you to get to know your farmers; they will provide you with a wealth of information about locally grown food.

Here is a list of Chicago’s finest farmers’ markets:

Tuesdays
• Federal Plaza – Adams St. and Dearborn St. (7AM-3PM)
• Lincoln Square – Lincoln and Leland (7AM-1PM)
• Museum of Contemporary Art/Streeterville – MCA Plaza at Chicago Ave. and Mies van der Rohe Way (7AM-3PM)
• Prudential Plaza – Lake St. and Beaubien Court (7AM-3PM)

Wednesdays
• Green City Market – 1799 N. Clark St. (7AM-1PM)
• Lawndale – Green City Youth Farm at 3555 W. Ogden Ave. (3PM-7PM)
• Pullman – Arcade Park at 11100 S. Cottage Grove (7AM-12PM)
• South Shore – ShoreBank parking lot at 70th and Jeffery Blvd. (7AM-1PM)

Thursdays
• Daley Plaza – 50 W. Washington (7AM-3PM)
• Hyde Park – On the Cul-de-sac of Harper Court at 5200 S. Harper Ave. (7AM-1PM)
• Lincoln Square – Lincoln and Leland (4-8PM; includes concerts)
• Uptown – Weiss Memorial Hospital at 4646 N. Marine Dr (8AM-1PM)
• Willis Tower Plaza – 233 S. Wacker Dr. (7AM-3PM)

Saturdays
• Austin – Madison St. and Central Ave. (7AM-12PM)
• Bridgeport – 35th and Wallace (7AM-1PM)
• Division St. – 50 W. Division St. between State and Clark (7AM-1PM)
• Green City Market – 1799 N. Clark St. (7AM-1PM)
• Lincoln Park – Lincoln Park High School at Armitage Ave. and Orchard St. (7AM-1PM)
• Northcenter – Northcenter Town Square 4100 N. Damen (7AM-1PM)
• Printer’s Row Park – Parking lot at Dearborn and Polk (7AM-1PM)
• Southport Green Market – Blaine School at 1420 W. Grace St. (7AM-1PM)

Sundays
• Beverly – City parking lot; southeast corner of 9500 S. Longwood Dr. (7AM-1PM)
• Erie St. – 500 W. Erie St. (8AM-1PM)
• Logan Square – 3107 W. Logan Blvd. (10AM-3PM)
• Pilsen Community Market – Chicago Community Bank at 1800 S. Halsted (9AM-3PM)
• Wicker Park and Bucktown – 1500 N. Damen Ave. (8AM-2PM)

Monday – Saturday (Closed Sunday)
• Chicago French Market, a year-round, European-inspired indoor market in the West Loop at 131 N. Clinton St. (Ogilvie Transportation Center’s street-level MetraMarket)

Source: www.explorechicago.org

Natalie Drugan, Founder of Brumberry and Certified Health Coach
Brumberry is my nutrition and lifestyle coaching practice. As a certified health coach, I educate individuals and groups on how to make healthy food and lifestyle choices that significantly improve their health and happiness.

Contact me today for a free consultation. We can discuss your unique situation and develop a plan that works best for you. This month only, I am offering a Mother’s Day special which includes one free session to celebrate and honor moms. Give the gift of health!

Here are ten ways to create a healthy and happy dining experience:

1. Eat “real” food: The best foods in life provide you with a wealth of vitamins and minerals. Thus, it’s important to eat nourishing foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains vs. highly processed foods.
2. Keep it simple: The term “cook” is frequently associated with a day’s worth of hard work. You can easily make a healthy, homemade meal in a matter of minutes. For example, you can cut up a few vegetables, sauté them in a skillet and serve them over brown rice.
3. Turn the TV off: The TV is often filled with chaotic shows, which can build upon your already hectic day. Additionally, it can become a great obstacle between you and your dinner companion(s). When its mealtime, hit the “off” button on your remote control.
4. Set a relaxing mood: To create a relaxing mood, light some candles and/or play light tunes for soothing background noise. This is a wonderful way to let the mind and body relax prior to sitting down for dinner.
5. Sit at the table: The table is the ideal place to enjoy a meal. It allows you to solely focus on your food without distractions. Other places, such as your desk, the couch, and even your car, direct your attention away from your food, which results in unhealthy eating habits.
6. Decorate your table: I encourage you to adorn your table with something nice, such as a vase with fresh, seasonal flowers. This will create an inviting and enjoyable atmosphere.
7. Turn your cell phone off: To avoid interruptions, turn your cell phone off for a minimum of one hour. This allows you to unwind from your day and enjoy the food that is before you. You can always call the person back after your meal.
8. Chew your food: Chewing seems like a simple and obvious task; however, it can be quite challenging in our busy lives. By thoroughly chewing your food, you will have a satisfying, calming experience accompanied with better digestion.
9. Focus on the positive: Often, we find ourselves dwelling on the negative aspects of life, rather than focusing on the positive. When dining with someone else, strive to discuss an uplifting, stress-free topic. A great way to start a positive conversation is by asking someone to tell you something “good.”

10.  Embrace the moment: By focusing on the present moment, you will have the ability to concentrate on your dining experience without stressful thoughts about the past or future. The present moment will pass in an instant, so take the opportunity to enjoy it!

With these simple tips, you can enjoy a wonderful, relaxing meal that nourishes your mind, body and soul.

Natalie Drugan, Founder of Brumberry and Certified Health Coach

Brumberry is my nutrition and lifestyle coaching practice. As a certified health coach, I educate individuals and groups on how to make healthy food and lifestyle choices that significantly improve their health and happiness. Contact me today for a free consultation. We can discuss your unique situation and develop a plan that works best for you.

Dear Doctor:

From the “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not really out to get you” mailbag – I received a youtube video from constant source of information and inspiration Dr. Barry Warren, featuring a terrifying expose´ about the presence of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in our milk and dairy products, from injecting cows with the substance to increase their milk production.

The conspiratorial cover-up ranges from tampering with a Fox News investigative report that was squashed over a decade ago to reports that both Canada and Europe had already moved to ban the use of this dangerous chemical. With a little more homework, I found that the effect of this practice is to increase the concentration of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) in our bodies, especially in infants, and excessive IGF-1 is linked to colon, breast and prostate cancer.

In fact, while Monsanto, the producers of rBGH (brand name Posilac, also known as bovine somatotrophin) allegedly threatened Fox and drove them to prevent the piece from airing unless they were allowed to eviscerate it and remove words like “cancer” from it, this video also says that Fox tried to contain the reporters, Steve Wilson and Jane Akre, with bribery, threats of termination and other questionable tactics, apparently due to financial pressure from Monsanto.

To me, this is just a symptom of our departure from ”things natural,” and it is obvious that there is a price to pay – for example, our runaway health care costs are fed by such self-serving decision-making, and until we return to a culture that respects nature, evaluates the impact of our actions and errs on the side of health and wellness instead of avarice, we can expect more of this rampant disregard for our safety.

Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle