Dr. Mark and Dr. Chip's Healthy Blogs

The Benefits of a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet The MMT diet is a cyclical  ketogenic diet , high in healthy fats and fiber, low in net carbs with a moderate amount of protein. Nutritional ketosis is the metabolic state associated with an increased production of ketones in your liver; i.e., the biological reflection of being able to burn fat, and is defined as having blood ketones in the range of 0.5 to 3.0 mmol/L. However, a key component that differentiates MMT from most other ketogenic eating plans is its emphasis on CYCLICAL ketosis. Once your body starts to burn fat for fuel, you need to switch to a cyclical ketogenic diet, as long-term continuous ketosis has some serious drawbacks that may actually undermine your health and longevity. The "metabolic magic" in the mitochondria actually occurs during the refeeding phase, not during the starvation phase. Alas, you cannot get to that magic unless you first go through the starvation phase. This is why we refer to the MMT p...

3 Ways to Get to Sleep Find you’re having trouble getting to sleep? Consider booking an appointment with our practice. You’ve darkened your bedroom. It’s quiet. You’ve set the temperature to a comfortable 68 degrees. You’ve avoided eating or exercising before bedtime. You get adjusted regularly to quiet down your nervous system. You’ve avoided the blue light emitted by your digital device. It’s time to fall asleep. Now what? If you’re someone who has difficulty getting to sleep each night, you’re not alone. Millions of people worldwide admit to some type of sleep problem. Sleep insufficiency can contribute to a variety of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity. Once you’re lying down, think about anything but falling asleep. Here are some helpful suggestions: 1. Starting at your toes and slowly moving towards your head, focus on contracting and relaxing...

Boost Your Body      Getting regular exercise is a great way to improve and maintain joint and general health. We’ve all heard the old adage, “Use it or lose it.” It’s especially true when it comes to joint function. As we age, many of us suffer from a loss of joint mobility. Morning stiffness starts to show up. Or we need time to recover after getting up out of a chair or driving for a long distance. Knees, hips, shoulders and elbows are common culprits. Less obvious, but even more important, are the joints of the spine. As we start to feel the brunt of a lifetime of insults and injuries to the spine, chiropractic care becomes especially helpful. Besides helping to keep spinal joints functioning as optimally as possible, many seniors choose some type of regular chiropractic care for: Better balance   – Falling is often the beginning of the end for the elderly. Regular chiropractic care may help the elderly maintain better balance. Increased vi...

Did you know? Regular chiropractic care is ideal to help retrain muscles that are susceptible to injury. Probably one of the greatest myths about chiropractic care is that, once you go, you have to go for the rest of your life. Of course, this isn’t true. However, we do have patients who plan to see us regularly for the rest of their life. So what gives? Five Ways to Use Chiropractic The most common reasons patients choose ongoing chiropractic care include: Relief  – Many people begin here. Their ache, pain or other symptom is often what prompts them to begin chiropractic care. Correction  – With the most obvious symptoms reduced, many opt to continue their care to stabilize and strengthen their spine. Maintenance  – Regular chiropractic care can help you maintain your progress and avoid a relapse. Prevention  – Periodic chiropractic checkups can help catch new problems early. Wellness  – Simply put, we experience life through our ner...

What is Lupus?             Lupus is a collection of conditions in which the immune system appears to react against tissues throughout the body. This leads to inflammation in these tissues which further leads to lack of function and integrity in these inflamed areas. The medical approach is to use drugs to suppress the immune system, leading to a whole new list of problems. In the natural health world, we look at the underlying causes of why this immune system is not working properly. These causes can include food allergies with leaky gut, heavy metal toxicity from many sources, chronic infection with concomitant overuse of antibiotics, EM F toxicity, and usually involve the spleen and liver. Genetic factors can be involved but the diet and lifestyle may be the driving issue behind the genetic factors. You’re looking at an immune system gone awry and for true health to be restored, the underlying causative factors must be disco...

What is ADHD?             The letters ADHD stand far “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”.  It is a diagnosis given to many school-aged children who have a hard time sitting still in classes and being able to focus and retain what is taught.  Most of these children are put on medications which slows them down but does nothing for the underlying cause or causes of the condition.  Modern medical science doesn’t really look into causes as they are into treatment.  In the natural health world, we find the causes to be varied and include heavy metal toxicity, allergies to food coloring and other chemicals, EMF sensitivities, food sensitivities due to overuse of antibiotics, and lack of a good nourishing diet-meaning not enough vitamins and minerals and too much refined sugar and carbohydrates. Parents need to discover that their child can be helped by changing the diet and lifestyle and not relying...

What Causes High Blood Pressure?             There are many causes of high blood pressure. In the natural health world, we find this is very particular for the individual patient. Most of these problems come from bad diets that lend towards nutritional deficiencies, over eating refined carbohydrates which causes inflammation in the body-especially in the cardio vascular system, lifestyles that include high amounts of stress and anxiety, and even overuse of over-the-counter medications. Some sources will talk about genetics being a factor but we look at the science of epigenetics’ as a cause, again diet and lifestyle turning on certain genes.             The important factor to remember when treating high blood pressure is to get to the cause, not just treat it with a medication. Medications are great for short-term prevention of further problems like stroke, but do nothi...

Vegetables are low in calories but rich in vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients. In addition, many are low in carbs and high in fiber, making them ideal for low-carb eating. Whether you're on a low-carb eating or not, eating more vegetables is always a great idea. Here is a list of the  10 best low-carb vegetables to include in your eating plan. 1. Bell peppers  are anti-inflammatory and high in vitamins A and C. They contain 6 grams of digestible (net) carbs per serving. 2. Broccoli  contains 4 grams of digestible carbs per serving. It's high in vitamins C and K and may reduce insulin resistance and help prevent cancer. 3. Asparagus  contains 4 grams of digestible carbs per serving. It's a good source of several vitamins and may help protect against certain types of cancer. 4. Mushrooms  contain 1 gram of digestible carbs per serving. They can reduce inflammation in people with metabolic syndrome. 5. Zucchini  and other types of summer squas...

5 "health foods" that can actually be pretty harmful You will find bold health claims for all kinds of foods, most often based on zero evidence.  Here are the top 5 "health foods" that can actually be pretty harmful. 1.  Most fruit juices  contain the same amount of easily digestible sugar as sugar-sweetened soft drinks. It is best to eat whole fruits instead. 2.  Whole wheat  is rich in gluten and can cause digestive problems and various symptoms. It may also cause Vitamin D deficiency and elevated small, dense LDL cholesterol. 3.  Agave nectar  is loaded with fructose and therefore causes all the same problems as regular sugar and high fructose corn syrup. 4. If you're not doing super intense workouts, then you should avoid  sports drinks . They are not needed and contain sugar. 5.  Vegetable oils  are unhealthy and lead to inflammation. They are potential key players in the epidemic of Western diseases. If the packaging of a food te...