Thank you. We really value knowing you and working with you. Our relationship is dynamic - we learn from you as you learn from us. We really do. Every person we see is a wonderful mystery and our relationship gives us each a unique opportunity to learn, grow and appreciate the infinite variety of life.

At this time of the year we're rededicating ourselves to better healing, better teaching and better helping others - including you and your family.

Thank you. 

We will be closed next week, February 5th through 9th for vacation and will reopen Monday, February 12th.  In case of an emergency, you can contact one of the doctors below while we are away:

 

Dr. Hood  (480) 610-4663

Dr. Simon (480) 545-4580

Dr. Carlow (480) 917-1720

 

You are invited to attend Dr. Ross' Prevention Plus+ Lecture on Thursday, February 22nd, 7pm at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale.  Dr. Ross will be speaking on "How to Live a More Healthy and Power-Filled Life". His talk will cover topics such as nutrition, wellness, pregnancy and children's health. This is great information you need to hear if you care about your health and the health of your family!  Call the office at 480-730-7950 for more details or to reserve your complimentary ticket(s). Family and friends are also welcome. Tickets are limited and will be given out on a first come first serve basis.   

Recently, soda has surpassed water as the number one choice of beverage for Americans!  In fact, the average American drinks an esitmated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year and it accounts for more than one-quarter of all drinks consumed in the U.S.  In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption among children has almost doubled in the U.S.  Teenage boys are the worst... they drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day. Teenage girls are close behind at about two cans per day.  This alarming statistic isn't surprising considering that school hallways are lined with vending machines, and vending machines can increase the consumption of soda by up to 50 or more cans of soda per student per year.  
 

So what's so bad about all this soda our kids and adults are drinking? The obvious reason is soft drinks contains large amounts of sugar (10 teaspoons for each can), lots of calories, and harmful additives, with no nutritional value whatsoever.  Not so obvious are the studies that link soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. 

In case you haven't notice, the obesity epidemic is taking over our children and adults alike. In fact, 1/4 of American's daily calories come from soda! One soft drink per day equals about 15 extra pounds (calorically) of weight gain over a year without any nutritional benefit to the body whatsoever.

Other diseases like type II diabetes, heart disease and cancer, are affecting our children at younger and younger ages...  because sugar and harmful additives overload our organs, incapciate our immune system and create free radicals in our systems which, in turn, begins the disease process. Here's what's in a can of soda:

Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body's ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. Phosphoric acid also neutralies the hydrochloris acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.

Sugar: Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar decreases immune system function, increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100% of the RDA (recommended dailiy amount) of sugar.

Aspartame (Nutrasweet): Diet soda is not the answer either!  Aspartame is the checmical used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, migraines, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures and is believed to be linked to fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens (cancer causing). Then how did it get approved by the FDA if it wasn't safe, you ask?  You may be surprised to know that Aspartame was approved politically, not scientifically. Many studies showed that it caused brain tumors in rats and could not get approved by the FDA based on science. For more information on this, you can borrow our DVD called "Sweet Misery" which details the process of how it was approved and what the scientific studies really revealed about Aspartame.

Caffeine: Cafffeinated drinks cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineratl depletion, breast lumps, burth defects and perhaps some forms of cancer.

Tap Water: Tap water can carry any number of chemicals including chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, cadmium, and various organic pollutants. Tap water is the main ingrediate in bottled soft drinks.

Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other foods that your body actually needs to function.  Dr. William Sears, one of America's foremost pediatricians, calls soda "Diabetes in a Bottle".

If you are still drinking soda, stopping the habit is an easy way to improve your health. Pure filtered water is a much better choice. If you must drink a carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water or a 100% fruit juice spritzer for a little sweetness.

 

To be the healthiest you can be, you need to be getting regular adjustments and including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet...  preferably raw... Juice Plus+ contains whole food concentrates of 17 different fruits, vegetables and whole grains... it's the easiest way to ensure you and your family are getting enough nutrition and antioxidants to fight disease every single day, even when your eating isn't the best.  For more information on including Juice Plus+ in your daily diet, contact Dr. Ross or Ms. Dana at the office.

 

Yours in Great Health,

Ms. Dana

Wellness Coordinator for Dr. Kevin Ross

One of chiropractic's premises is that we are born with a wonderful healing potential. It is always with us. We must learn to respect it and work with it so it may permeate our beings and fill us with healing, strength, hope, growth and life. 

We are never without this potential. Even cancer patients, for example, still have a healing ability. Cut a cancer patient and they will heal. The question is, if they can heal a cut, why can't they heal their cancer?

They can! There are numerous case histories of people with all kinds of terminal illnesses who undergo spontaneous remission - they heal. Somehow they were able to tap into their innate or inborn healing ability and defy all the doctors' grim predictions. Years later they may attend their doctors' funerals.

Chiropractic helps us tap into our potential by freeing us of subluxations - blockages to our flow of energy and information. Free of subluxations, your body and mind function more efficiently - in communication with your natural perfection.

Chiropractors are specially trained in the location and correction of subluxations - permitting you to function in tune with your natural state of perfection.

The cause of most disease is in the poisonous drugs physicians superstitiously give in order to affect a cure.
 - Charles E. Page, M.D.

Researchers from Stanford and Cornell Universities reviewed 19 studies involving nearly 34,000 patients and found that people using popular drug inhalers for asthma (SereventT, AdvairT, ForadilT) were 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized for severe asthma attacks and 3.5 times more likely to die. Five thousand people die each year from asthma (US) and about 4,000 of those deaths are caused by these drugs - 80%! (1)

For the first time ever (and it's about time!), large scale studies were done asking whether it's better to rush into back surgery for ruptured lumbar disks and sciatica or.just wait. The results found that surgery was no better than doing nothing. Patients in both the surgery and non-surgery groups improved substantially over a 2-year period.

Tell that to the 300,000 Americans that have spinal surgery each year.

Actually these findings are nothing new - other studies have demonstrated the same thing: people with ruptured disks in their lower backs or with sciatica usually recover without surgery and (very important) there is no harm in waiting. No one in either study developed cauda equina syndrome that can cause nerve damage, weakened leg or loss of bowel or bladder control.

Many surgeons were against doing the studies because they said that they knew that the operations worked and it was unethical for their patients to participate in the study.

The study mentioned that a percentage of those who had back surgery needed repeat operations within the year. (2-3)

In 2004, Americans spent more than $540 million on anti-bacterial hand cleaners, soaps and detergents that contain chemicals such as triclosan to kill germs, even though a Food and Drug Administration panel found that they are no better than soap and water.

Triclosan mimics thyroid hormone, is commonly added to soaps, toothpaste, deodorant, dog shampoo, cutting boards, clothing, toys and other anti-bacterial products, and is turning up in fish, breast milk and wastewater. A recent study has shown it's enough to disrupt thyroid function in frogs. Equivalent data on humans isn't yet available.

By the way, anti-bacterial soaps don't prevent colds or flu, which are associated with viruses, not bacteria. (4)

http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/s1748158.htm

There's no evidence that heart bypass surgery, angioplasty or stent procedures prolong life or prevent future heart attacks in the majority of patients.

The three-year survival rate for most patients who have had bypass surgery is almost exactly the same as it is for patients with heart disease who don't have surgery. Plus add a 3%-5% death rate from the surgery itself.

In fact, all these expensive and risky procedures can be replaced by natural foods, avoiding poisons in our diet and lifestyle changes. For wonderful heart healthy advice go to http://www.westonaprice.org/index.html .

Most heart attacks are caused by tiny blockages in small arteries - these arteries are not replaced during surgery.

Finally, the majority of bypass patients may suffer brain injury: cognitive difficulties, and memory problems. Bypass surgery patients are also nearly four times more likely to suffer a subsequent stroke. All this from a procedure that doesn't prolong life or make a patient healthier.

Your body contains nine pints of blood that travel along 62,000 miles of blood vessels (they could go around the equator 2.5 times). The nerves from your spine control the size of many of the blood vessels that go to your internal organs. A subluxation that irritates your nerves can affect your blood vessels and cause internal organ malfunction -
another reason to see your chiropractor.

Your body has 650 muscles. Subluxations may cause pain, muscle spasm, contraction, muscle weakness and muscular in-coordination (as in you just can't seem to get a good golf swing). Remember, it takes 17 muscles to smile and 42 to frown (and only three to extend your arm and smack the person on the head who was bothering you in the first place).

Infertility and Chiropractic
(From The Monterey County Herald)
Did you hear the one about the woman who went to the chiropractor and got pregnant?

Really, all Karen Bulch wanted was a little neck-and-shoulders adjustment.
But a month after wandering into chiropractor Mark Kimes' Salina office, the 44-year-old Monterey woman was with child, something she had unsuccessfully been trying to accomplish for 4½ years.

Kimes told her it might happen. And if it did, he said it would be within the first few months.

Kimes noticed a subluxation - essentially, that's chiropractic for blockage - in Bulch's lower back. He wasn't sure, but Kimes thought he just might be able to tweak the subluxation to the point of reproduction. "I've been in practice for 12 years and I've seen it happen with many women," he said. (5)

Deafness, hearing loss and chiropractic
Patient: 68-year-old woman native of the Dutch East Indies. At age 7, she was struck in the head by a Japanese military officer after she spilled tea on him while serving him. This caused her left ear to bleed. At age 9, a grenade exploded about 30 feet from her and she lost all hearing in her left ear and most of the hearing in her right ear. She had been wearing a hearing aid in her left ear since she was a young lady.

At her daughter's urging she came in for chiropractic care. By her third visit she was able to hear sounds for the first time since she was 9. On her forth visit she was able to hear sounds (phone ringing, etc.) without having her hearing aid in her ear. On her fifth visit she was able to hear more subtle sounds without her hearing aid. [From the records of Joseph A. La Barbera, DC]

Ed Was In Trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really angry. She told him, "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in 5 seconds AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!"

The next morning Ed got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway. Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, brought the box back in the house. She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Ed has been missing since Friday.

See you next month. Stay healthy, get adjusted and take your Juice Plus+ everyday!  

Dr. Ross and Staff

1. Salpeter SR et al. Meta-analysis: Effect of long-action B-agonists on severe asthma exacerbations and asthma-related deaths. Ann Internal Medicine. 2006;144:904-912.
2. Weinstein JN, Tosteson TD, Lurie JD, Tosteson AN, Deyo RA et al. Surgical vs. nonoperative treatment for lumbar disk herniation. The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT): A randomized trial. JAMA. 2006;296:2441-2450. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/20/2441
3. Weinstein JN, Tosteson TD, Lurie JD, Tosteson AN, Deyo RA et al. Surgical vs. nonoperative treatment for lumbar disk herniation. The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT): Observational cohort. JAMA. 2006;296:2451-2459. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/20/2451
4. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-611190297nov19,1,7985070.column?coll=chi-health-hed
5. A spine-tingling affair. The Monterey County Herald. March 1998;D:1.