Dr. Mark and Dr. Chip's Healthy Blogs

  STORY AT-A-GLANCE New evidence shows artificial sweeteners can change beneficial bacteria in your gut into pathogens that attach, invade and penetrate the intestinal wall, potentially contributing to inflammation, infection and sepsis Artificial sweeteners are advertised as zero-calorie options to help reduce weight and lower the risk of diabetes. However, studies have linked these to an increased risk of diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome Animal studies demonstrate artificial sweeteners damage the DNA in healthy gut bacteria, increase the risk of early death, affect neurobehavioral health and may trigger liver damage Consider alternatives for low-calorie artificial sweeteners and sugar, including stevia, Lo Han Kuo and allulose After years of investigation about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, I wrote my book, “Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health,” and published it in 2006. Since then I’ve been warning about the ever-...

  Hello everyone in Natural Health Nation -      Well we got some more rain this weekend and some warmer temperatures. It looks like spring is definitely here to stay and we haven't even gotten into April Showers for the May flowers. It sure is nice to see things green up and even the trees budding out. Spring is such a great time of year with the promise of new life and growth and all the fun that we have with warmer weather. As you're getting outside and working in the yard more and starting to sweat more, don't forget to supplement with good quality sea salt, especially if you notice any leg cramps or tiredness. It's a very simple but essential substance that gets poo pooed by the mainstream medical  folk.       This is the last week of March and we are still talking about diet. This week in our health shop, we're talking about Diet Essentials. The article I'm sending along looks at the need for manganese and how i...

  Hello everyone in Natural Health Nation -       What a great weekend! We're finally getting some really good weather and the grass is greening up. I love this time of year because of the promise of a fresh start with all the vegetation and tree leaves and just life in general. It's hard to just sit back and savor this time of year because we're so busy with yard chores and just getting around more, and pretty soon we're in the middle of a hot summer.  Hopefully you're able to enjoy it as well and can look forward to getting outside into the fresh air and sunshine. We really need to work on those vitamin D stores after a long winter!       We are still in March and talking about diet. The topic for this week’s health shop will be the Gut-Brain connection. This connection has been getting lots of press in the last 10 years or so and it's so important. At Natural Health, we really work at getting the digestive system w...

What a great weekend. It’s really starting to look like spring and I noticed the frogs are chirping. The old wives tale is that the frogs must see through ice thrice before there’s no more freezes so I think that means 2 more freezes. We’ll see how true this is. The sunshine and warm weather yesterday was so nice so be sure and get out and get that vitamin D activated, which is only done in sunshine. You can take all the artificial vitamin D you want but it doesn’t become activated without sunshine. Sunshine is good for you, in limited amounts, despite what the dermatologists say. Mankind has been in the sun for millennia so if people have skin problems, it’s not the sun’s fault, it’s that person’s immune system that is failing.             The theme for this month is Diet to the article that I sent along this week looks at the problems with eating junk food and all the sugary stuff that people get into. This type of “food” is...

            Well the weather has sure taken a nice upturn. It looks like maybe the groundhog was right and spring is coming a little earlier. We have had plenty of winter already since it started on Halloween last year so we’re all ready for spring. The question is, are you ready for spring and all the activities it brings? If your joints are achy and you feel sluggish and tired all the time, you’re not healthy. We specialize in getting people healthy so that they can feel great and have vibrant energy to do the things they want to do. What do you want to do?             I hope that you had a chance to look over the medical freedom information that I sent last week and had a little time to send letters to your Congressman. I found out that the one senator who is sponsoring one of the bills has been paid by Merck pharmaceuticals and this is her program, not health. If we ...

At Natural Health we are excited for our 2020 Health Shops. Every Monday night at 6:00 pm CT, we will be having a Health Shop that will be touching on the Physical, Nutritional and Emotional aspects of health depending on the Health Shop topic. These Health Shops will all be online for those who can not make it in-person. The Health Shops will be the backbone of our marketing efforts with social media posts, blog posts, emails, in office promotions and much more forming around the concept of the Health Shops. This organized format will allow you to achieve Natural Health by understanding the basics behind each topic. Below is our monthly themes that the Health Shops will be based from: January - Energy February - Heart Health March - Diet April - Allergies / Sun Health May - Women's Health June - Men's Health July - Hydration / Breathing  August - Brain Health / Back To School September - Chronic Illness in America October - Chiropractic Month November - ...

Doesn’t Qualify for Special Ed Class Any Longer I have found that utilizing Nutrition Response Testing® along with Chiropractic gets better results with my patients. I would like to share two of these cases, since the results had a profound effect not only for the patients but for their family as well. I had a young boy that came in to my practice who was in a special preschool.  He was 4 and he was diagnosed with autism. He was an extremely picky eater.  His mom couldn’t really get him to eat very much and he was on a very limited diet.   The mother brought him in to see me.  Upon completing an initial examination, I told the mother right away, “I don’t think your child is autistic.  There is something going on with him, but I don’t see it as autism.” He was very bright although he did have some behavioral issues.   Through Nutrition Response Testing I found that his gall bladder had some nutritional deficiencies.  The protocol called fo...

Low Carb and Keto Diet Explained Go to -    www.dietdoctor.com           This is a great website that has simple videos to help patients get started on a low-carb and/or keto diet. This is especially important if you’re a visual learner, you’ll love the visual guides for navigating optional food choices.           On this website are low-carb recipe alternatives for Everything! This goes for pizza, cookies, chocolate, You name it! Find interesting and great tasting low-carb options for all the food you thought you had to give up on a low-carb diet.           So why does everyone seem to feel better on a low-carb/keto diet? Simply put, it replaces an inefficient fuel source (sugar) with a highly efficient fuel source (fat/keytones). This means that your trillions of cells have a cleaner fuel source to burn, and everything just work...

Fat Is Your Friend One of the biggest health care hoaxes perpetrated during the last decade or so is the notion that “fat is bad.” If you want to enjoy your highest health potential, you need to know the truth about this common (and incorrect) belief about fat. Fat is not your enemy. Fat is essential if you want your body to look and feel younger and equip your nervous system to function at its best. Healthy fats supply good cholesterol, which is critical for the production of hormones that enhance youthful qualities. If you’ve chosen to adopt a low-fat diet, you’re depriving your body of the nutrients it needs to slow aging and to function optimally. Granted, low-fat alternatives abound on grocery store shelves. To get away with low-fat (low-taste) products, manufacturers rely on amping up the sugar to deliver the taste people want. The result? Weight gain. Bottom line? Fat doesn’t automatically make you fat. At least, “good” fat doesn’t.

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...

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...

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...