24 Day Challenges, Yay or Nay?

     

The following Blog post is somewhat graphic in nature and if you are easily offended/grossed out by talk of bowel movements, please don't read any further!  Not grossed out by poo? Check out this informative post on what you can learn about yourself by inspecting your poo!

       What you are about to read is the (somewhat graphic) retelling of my and my business partner's experience with a 24 day cleanse/weight loss challenge. This post is meant to be taken with a rather large grain of salt and sense of humor.  You may notice that not each day is accounted for, that's either because I got bored with it, or didn't have anything exciting to report on those days.  So here it is, our largely unedited experience with this challenge...

                Day 1:  Friday Sept 26:  I’m getting a proper start to cleanse day 1, so naturally I've gotten up before 7 AM to attend a meeting that will be serving fresh hot doughnuts, coffee, and hot apple cider and I intend to consume it all!  The doughnuts and cider were absolutely delicious, I didn't get to eat many doughnuts because I was so busy talking with people and didn't want to be rude by stuffing my face while trying to hold polite conversation.  Back at the office, it’s time to start this cleanse for real now.  Step one mix up some Spark! What is Spark you ask? It’s this miracle energy supplement drink.  We've been advised to add the ‘fiber drink’ to the Spark and drink both as a ‘water shot’.  We will try this as the fiber drink is reported to get ‘thick’ relatively quickly.  Our flavor options for Spark are Mandarin Orange or Fruit Punch. We've opted to try the fruit punch first. Opening the fiber drink packet it looks like dirty dried potato flakes, and smells like some sort of herbal concoction you’d smell in one of those ‘natural goods shops’ (don’t smell it, seriously).  Mix it, pound it and wait for the sweet sweet bitter aftertaste of the sucralose sweetener. Gross.  Nothing to do now but wait 30 minutes to eat real breakfast.  Keep in mind at this point that we've been advised that this cleanse is ‘gentle and uneventful’.  This is simply untrue.  Roughly 2 hours after eating, my stomach is rumbling, grumbling and things are MOVING through.  My stomach is cramping and it is evident that there is about to be an EVENT.  The Event itself turns out to be the most gentle and polite round of liquid poop you will ever experience, but it’s an event nonetheless.  This event will repeat itself several times over the next few hours.  The rest of the day passes with little to no incident, just have to take the Catalyst, omegaplex and nighttime fiber supplements before bed.

                Day 2: Repeat of day 1, Spark + Fiber Drink + Catalyst = thick, almost chewy, gross, overly sweet bitter poop juice

                Day 3: I've decided that the way this challenge causes you to lose weight is by helping your food to pass through so quickly that you don’t have time to absorb the calories. I have not had a solid poop in 3 days…  Overall I am noticing slightly increased energy levels and less effects of the ‘2 O’Clock slump’ in the afternoons after lunch which is good.  So I’m pooping like a champ with slightly increased energy levels, YAY!

                Day 4: Phew, no fiber drink today, today we replace fiber drink with probiotics capsules for the next 4 days in the mornings.  Oh goody, I get to ingest billions of little microscopic beasties that will help me digest my food even FASTER!

                Day 5: I once again awoke early, this time to perform barn chores.  I realized halfway through chores that I am starving and badly craving real wholesome food.  I will drink my Spark, catalyst, and probiotics and see how I feel after…Nope still starving.

                Day 7:  I had my first solid poo in a week this morning.  So far nothing about this cleanse is really memorable aside from my bowel movements, which is unfortunate for those that are reading this blog…  I will say that we’ve gotten a few new flavors of Spark to try and our listing of flavors from best to worst is as follows: BEST toss-up between Pink Lemonade and Strawberry Mango, next is the Fruit Punch, and the worst so far by far is the Mandarin Orange which tastes a lot like Tang, only more gross.

                Day 8:  We had an event early this morning that was going into the afternoon and there was no way I was going to get back on the Fiber Drink and not have easy bathroom access for upwards of 5 hours while dealing with the public, I think we can all agree that postponing ingestion of the Fiber Drink until tomorrow was the best decision all around.

                Day 9:  Fiber Drink with Spark and Probiotics this morning followed almost immediately by the expected ‘cleansing’ again gentle but eventful.  At this point though I am down 3 pounds from my starting weight and haven’t changed a whole lot about my lifestyle aside from taking all these supplements and cleanse drinks.

                Day 10: We've moved into the MNS Max E phase of the challenge. “What does that mean? You ask. Well basically it means that we’re done with the thick and chewy fiber drinks and can start taking a metabolism boosting supplement called MNS Max E that is about 45 individual tablets and capsules to be taken at 16 different times throughout the day before and during meals.  Realistically that’s a gross exaggeration of the number of tablets and what not, but you get what I’m saying.  So first thing we’re doing Spark, with Catalyst, probiotic, and a ‘colored’ packet of the MNS 30 minutes before breakfast then another bunch of tablets with breakfast (which is now a meal replacement shake) then more tablets before and with lunch (now our first real food of the day)

                Day 11-24:  The MNS packets contain I do not know how much caffeine, but they evidently ramp my metabolism up so high that I break out in a sweat if I twitch my finger.  So now I'm hungry, jacked up on caffeine, and very sweaty. Its like a second, more terrible puberty in that I'm unable to control my body while it's doing all kinds of strange things, but I just have to get through the day like everything's fine. 

                Day 30: We are still struggling through this 24 day challenge cleanse, the pills tastes so bad it’s like smelling them with your mouth…I don’t even know how that is possible, but somehow one smells these with their mouth and I’m NOT talking about taste here. (Yes I am aware that much of the taste experience is through smell and vice versa)

All jokes and witty comments aside, this 24 day challenge wasn't terrible (except the sucralose) and the products really did help increase our energy levels while helping us lose a little weight.  The major issue here with this challenge and with most similar products, is that the products don’t teach you how to change your diet and lifestyle for the better, they teach you ‘Hey, take these gross miracle tablets and you’ll lose weight while maintaining unhealthy habits’.  So while doing a challenge like this may be the thing that helps kick start the process of weight loss and better fitness, there NEEDS to be an added component of education and support to teach one how to modify diet and exercise habits at the same time so when the cleanse is over you can maintain the progress you've made and continue progressing without needing to continue spending bundles of money on these products. 

If you have any questions or would like more information/assistance with lifestyle changes that may be right for you, please don't hesitate to Contact us!

Dr. Rachel Kohn, DC is a chiropractor with Active Life Chiropractic and Rehab, LLC. She graduated from the University of Western States in 2013 and is working everyday to improve the health of her community.  Questions for Dr. Kohn? 

What is Animal Chiropractic?

Chiropractic for Animals?! Yes, you read that correctly, chiropractic offers tremendous potential in animal healthcare for your dog, cat, and even horses!  Animal Chiropractic is a field of animal health care that focuses on the preservation and health of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system. Why? Nerves control everything that happens in your animals. Anything adversely affecting the nervous system will have detrimental effects that will resonate throughout the entire body. This is the same concept that we use in human chiropractic, and under all the fur, our pets' anatomy isn't all that different from our own! 

Is your dog or cat limping? If the spine isn’t moving correctly, it can interfere with the performance of the nerves that are branching off of the spinal cord and going to the all of the muscles and organs. As this occurs, your animal can lose normal movement; resulting in stiffness, tension, pain and even organ dysfunction. Additionally, when normal movement is affected, and left unattended, it will ultimately impact your animal’s entire well being and quality of life.

Symptoms of spinal fixation are vast, and may include pain, spasm, sensitivity to touch, lameness, limping, gait abnormalities, postural compromise, and behavioral changes. These are the symptoms that are the easiest to detect. It may take a trained doctor to distinguish some of the more subtle changes that occur when organs begin to malfunction. The goal of an animal chiropractor is to restore function and mobility to the “stuck” vertebra. This allows the body to perform at its optimum potential.

Some of the Signs and Symptoms that may help you identify what to watch for to protect your Dog and ensure a healthy and vigorous life include:

·         Pain when being touched, pet or lifted

·         Reluctance or difficulty when climbing stairs or jumping

·         Difficulty when getting up after lying down

·         Negative changes in attitude or behavior

·         Altered sitting (“Puppy Sitting”)

·         Changes in eating or eliminating

·         Constantly licking or chewing paws

·         Lameness, limping, or changes in gait

·         Changes in performance

·         Lying on one side

Animal Chiropractic has been beneficial for performance animals, injured animals, athletes, show animals, and family pets. Whether to enhance performance, address injury or illness or simply for preventative care, Animal Chiropractic can make a positive difference in your animal’s life.

Animal Chiropractic is NOT meant to replace traditional veterinary care, in fact, in Oregon, animal chiropractors are required to obtain a referral from a veterinarian before treating an animal chiropractically. It is not an alternative treatment, but rather an integrative method that, when used in conjunction with good traditional veterinary care, will provide years of happy and healthy living for your beloved pet!  Even larger more exotic zoo animals can benefit from animal chiropractic treatments!
                                             




Dr. Rachel Kohn, DC is a chiropractor with Active Life Chiropractic and Rehab, LLC in Tualatin, OR. She graduated from the University of Western States in 2013 and is working everyday to improve the health of her community's 2 and 4 legged residents.  Questions for Dr. Kohn? 

Chiropractic Approach to Treating Chronic Sinusitis

"What the heck is chronic sinusitis, anyway?"  Chronic sinusitis is a fancy way to say that your sinuses are inflamed and/or irritated and not draining properly for a period of 8 weeks or longer.  "Sinuses?" Your sinuses consist of eight hollow spaces in the bones of the forehead, cheeks and temples, four on each side of your head.  The function of these spaces is to filter the air you breathe and help ensure that the air that gets to your lungs is free of dust, dirt, and pollutants while being warm and moist.  It accomplishes this by being covered with a layer of sticky mucus that catches dust particles as well as environmental pollutants and bacteria that are floating in the air.  

There are any number of things that can cause the mucosa lining the sinuses to become irritated and inflamed. Seasonal allergies, mold sensitivity, DIET, nasal polyps, deviated septum, facial trauma, and upper respiratory infection. Often one this happens like an upper respiratory infection which will knock your immune system down, leaving you more vulnerable to allergens such as mold and pollen. Then you start to experience negative inflammatory effects from foods that ordinarily cause you problems and the cycle is off and running.  

There are many possible symptoms of sinusitis and one must have at least two of the following for a physician to make a diagnosis of sinusitis and symptoms must be present for a minimum of eight weeks before it is a chronic problem.  The list is as follows:

• Drainage of a thick, yellow or greenish discharge from the nose or down the back of the throat

• Nasal obstruction or congestion, causing difficulty breathing through your nose

• Pain, tenderness and swelling around your eyes, cheeks, nose or forehead

• Reduced sense of smell and taste

• Ear pain

• Aching in your upper jaw and teeth

• Cough, which may be worse at night

• Sore throat

• Bad breath (halitosis)

• Fatigue or irritability

• Nausea

"OK, that's all great, I've now self diagnosed myself with chronic sinusitis, what in the world is a chiropractor going to do about it for me?"  Good question!  First things first, your chiropractor is going to do (assuming they deal with sinus issues in their office) is take a thorough history about the problem to get to the root cause whether it's diet, seasonal allergy, infection, etc.  They're also going to look in your nose, throat, and eyes to check for inflammation and signs of infection and possibly refer your for antibiotic treatment for active acute infection.  In many cases however, suffers of chronic sinusitis will receive adjustments to their neck and upper back to increase the motion in the joints and decrease inflammation in the surrounding muscles which in turn will enable increased lymphatic drainage from the sinuses, additionally lymphatic drainage massage may to performed to further help drain lymph fluid from the sinuses.  Often this will be enough to promote the body to get itself back on track, but occasionally further treatment is necessary.  One further treatment is called a Nasal Specific therapy.  
Nasal Specific therapy involves gently inserting a rubber finger cot (basically a tiny balloon) into the nasal meatus (a small space in the sinus that leads to the sinus cavities).  This balloon, once inserted into the meatus is quickly inflated and immediately deflated to promote increased mucus drainage and increased airflow through a decrease in inflammation and more open airways.  This procedure is done in each of the six nasal meati (3 in each nostril).  Significant reduction in symptoms is typically seen within one to three treatments and maximum benefit within two to five treatments over a 2 week period. Treatments may need to be repeated every 6 months or so as seasons change and allergies return. 

Often it will be necessary to make dietary changes to decrease your overall systemic inflammation to help prevent the problem from returning.  These changes may include removing dairy, wheat, and processed foods from your diet, but that is a topic for another day and another blog.

 For more information about Chronic Sinusitis and the treatment options available please contact Active Life Chiropractic and Rehab.

Dr. Rachel Kohn, DC is a chiropractor with Active Life Chiropractic and Rehab, LLC. She graduated from the University of Western States in 2013 and is working everyday to improve the health of her community.  Questions for Dr. Kohn? 

Chiropractic: So Much More Than Back Pain Relief!

Who do you talk to when your back or neck are hurting? The Chiropractor of course! It's what we as chiropractors do!  BUT did you know that chiropractors treat and manage so much more than back pain cases?!  Chiropractors can also manage conditions of your arms and legs from carpal tunnel syndrome, to ankle sprains. We look at the whole body to find the cause of your problems whether it be poor diet causing the inflammation that's causing the gout you're fighting or a vitamin D deficiency in the winter causing depressed mood and body aches.  Whatever is ailing you, we recommend giving chiropractic a try FIRST rather than waiting years and only turning to chiropractic as a last resort.  We too frequently treat patients who have been having the same recurring pain for 10 or more years! These patients are so desperate for relief and are so fed up with MDs and everyone else trying to cover up the symptoms they will try literally ANYTHING.  And all too often, after only a few treatments and a few small to not so small lifestyle changes, their chronic over the past 10 plus years problem is gone!  I've personally been lucky enough to have seen this happen several times in my life and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it! 

I've seen a man with chronic sinus inflammation and mucus drainage problems that had been surgically corrected TWICE with no results, seek the help of a chiropractor and he was instructed to remove wheat, dairy, and processed foods (particularly partially hydrogenated vegetable oils ie: TRANS FATS) from his diet.  He followed this advice to the letter and shortly after changing his diet, his sinuses cleared up, and haven't given him a problem since.  That same man was also dealing with chronic acid reflux and taking TUMs by the handful and getting no relief.  This time, after his success with the chiropractor, he went back to the chiropractor and found that the real issue wasn't that he had too much acid in his stomach, it was not having enough acid!! (This is a more common problem than we realize) He stopped taking TUMs and was warned that the next two weeks would be  miserable as his stomach was allowed to reset and begin producing acid again.  This man was not a patient of mine, he is my father and the reason I decided to become a chiropractor.  

I've seen a woman with a 20 year...read that again, TWENTY YEARS, history of chronic shoulder and arm pain who had had multiple treatments with many different providers; she'd had MRIs, and injections, massages, adjustments and no one could figure this pain of hers out.  The problem was everyone was looking at her neck thinking that was the pain generator despite the negative MRI.  She found a chiropractor willing to step back, start over and completely reassess her condition. Her chiropractor found that she had a shoulder problem afterall and with a few treatments or soft tissue manipulation and adjustments for her shoulder, she felt 90% better after 20 years of pain.

I've told these stories to drive home my point that chiropractors can and do treat so much more than back pain.  It is a much safer option than using over the counter or prescription drugs that typically just mask the symptoms without getting to the underlying cause of the problem or, as in the case of the acid reflux above, the TUMs were actually making the problem WORSE!  Chiropractic is certainly much safer than expensive and highly dangerous surgeries that often don't work either, and then we get into the long painful recovery periods and secondary problems that come from having your body cut open, but that's another blog entirely!  What I'm saying is give chiropractic a chance FIRST.  A good chiropractor will be open and honest with you about whether s/he thinks they can help you and will refer you to a specialist who can better serve you if necessary.






Dr. Kohn is a chiropractor with Active Life Chiropractic and Rehab, LLC.  She graduated from the University of Western States in 2013 with a  and is working everyday to improve the health of her community.  Questions for Dr. Kohn? 

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