Dr. Mark and Dr. Chip's Healthy Blogs

The Walking Revolution Analysis by  Dr. Joseph Mercola STORY AT-A-GLANCE U.S. inactivity and sedentary lifestyles cause obesity and other health problems Car-based lifestyles based on commuting from suburbs to job sites have greatly increased inactivity Incorporating walking into personal lifestyles can lower blood pressure, reduce susceptibility to diabetes and lower the risk of developing some cancers and cognitive decline Walkable communities and parks are making a comeback, often through the efforts of citizen activists Many, including the elderly, have taken up mall walking; in some places children now walk to school via "walking school buses" Most of us have some idea about the dangers of inactivity — the too common lifestyle that consists of going from the "couch to the car to the cube." But many think the alternative to a sedentary life is active working out and a gym membership. The excellent documentary "The Walking Revolution,...

Weight Loss Simplified II             This handout is geared towards the patients who are having a tough time losing weight. As many of our other handouts talk about toxicity in the body, we are finding this is a much more prevalent problem in folks who are having a hard time losing weight and we must work harder to get these toxins out of the body. With this in mind, we are especially looking at the liver and kidneys and helping these organs to be able to remove these toxins so the body can lose the weight. Were also find that these toxins gum up the metabolic processes and that we must address this issue as well. We’ve also found that further restriction of carbohydrates is especially helpful, working towards a ketogenic, and almost Carnivore type diet. A saying that we’ve come across that seems to work is that the diet is for losing weight, and exercise is for building muscle. In other words, it’s hard to lose weight by jus...

HEALTH (True, Natural, Energetic) = Nutrition and Diet divided by Negative Stress (Physical, Psychological, Emotional, Environmental) If You Want To Be Healthy, You Must Give The Body What It Needs To Repair Itself! Do You Know What That Is? Natural Health and Nutrition Response Testing Can Answer that Question! Call us today and make your appointment so you too can "Get Healthy, Stay Healthy and Live Well" 217-228-2040

Natural Health and Autoimmune Disease             At Natural Health, we’re always looking for the cause of a disease process. Autoimmune disease seems to be a mystery in the medical world and the treatment for it are drugs that suppress the immune system and drugs that reduce inflammation. These may be good treatments for pain relief, but they do nothing for the cause of the problem. And actually taking these drugs makes the problem worse as the body is never able to heal itself plus their side effects.             The underlying cause of autoimmune disease is a chronic degeneration of whatever organ or system is being affected. The dead tissue from this organ or system gets into the lymphatic system and the body starts to develop antibodies to fight what it thinks is an invasion of foreign protein, somewhat like the cause of food allergies with leaky gut syndrome. Once ...

Here are 5 proven ways to reduce or eliminate bloating. 1.  People who experience bloating often have increased sensitivity to food in the stomach. Therefore, eating smaller meals can be very useful. 2.  Food allergies and intolerances are common causes of bloating. Common offenders include lactose, fructose, wheat, gluten and eggs. 3.  Swallowed air can contribute to bloating. A major cause is drinking carbonated beverages, which contain gases that are dissolved in the liquid. 4.  If certain foods make you feel bloated or give you gas, try cutting back or avoiding them. Eating fatty foods can also slow digestion and may  contribute to bloating  for some people. 5.  Probiotic supplements can help improve the bacterial environment in the gut, which can help reduce symptoms of  gas and bloating . If you have chronic bloating that causes severe problems in your life, or becomes a lot worse all of a sudden, definitely call and make your appointment t...

What causes Kidney Stones? Kidney stones are normally very painful so folks that have had them, want to never have them again.  Kidney stones are symptom of an underlying issue and can have many causes. In the natural healing world, we feel that anything can cause anything so the cause must be looked at very individually.  The kidney stone itself is a uric acid deposit, coming from improper protein metabolism and drainage issues in the kidney. A simple cause of kidney stones can be dehydration, lack of drinking good quality water and getting mineral or sea salt to help the kidneys work correctly.  Incomplete digestion of proteins or mal-absorption of nutrients necessary for complete digestion of proteins indicates a digestive or intestinal problem. Toxic liver and an overloaded lymphatic system can also trigger kidney stones as this over works the kidneys.  Subluxation of the mid thoracic vertebra with reduction of nerve flow to the kidneys reducing corre...

What can I do to stop snoring? As you may or may not know, snoring is a possible symptom of underlying issues. In the natural healing world, we feel that anything can cause anything so to stop snoring, you must figure out the cause of the symptom in that individual. Possible causes would include enlarged adenoids and tonsils caused by immune system problems or allergies, extreme fatigue from overwork and stress and possible hypothyroidism, and possible subluxation of the upper cervical spine impinging upon the nerves that allow the body control itself normally. The goal in the clinical setting would be to figure out which one or more causes are involved in that individual. The thyroid connection is often overlooked and we find it to be a very common problem, especially in women. Eating foods that are inflammatory to the body, like refined sugar and flour, can cause the tonsils and adenoids to inflame and lead to snoring as well. So there are many causes and to stop the symptom of s...

Can you imagine a machine that could heal your condition? Type in the right combination and cells react, repairing tissue and broken bones. A machine that regulates how many breaths you need for healing or one that beats your heart just enough to circulate the blood to areas in demand. A machine this advanced could also send signals to its operator to slow it down or enter a sleep mode so updates could be downloaded. It would be an amazing machine, cutting healthcare costs for millions. Undoubtedly, people would invest large sums just to have one and would go to great measures to take care of it. The demand for such a machine would be so great that suppliers could not keep up. Want to know something more amazing? This machine exists within you. In fact, it is YOU. You were born with natural healing ability—you just have to take care of it! At Natural Health we can help you take care of your body, finding what it needs nutritionally to stay functioning correctly.  Call tod...

Anxiety, Depression and Natural Health                         Anxiety and Depression are basically two sides of the same coin. Both are usually a deficiency of B vitamins which can be brought on by a long history of eating processed or refined sugar. Standard Process divides their B complex nutrition into two parts, Cataplex B for support of the Sympathetic nervous system which helps the body have energy and stamina, and Cataplex G for the Parasympathetic nervous system which helps the body to calm down and relax. People with anxiety have a hard time relaxing, and over time, their systems break down from lack of healing due to inability of their body to slow down enough to heal. Sleep is when the body does this and it is so important to get a good amount and the right quality. Doctors have patients taking sleeping pills or using a CPAP machine which again is working on ...

Natural Health and Diet Soda             There has been a lot of controversy about diet soda in the past. When they first came out, everyone thought, especially the salesmen, that they would be the answer to anyone’s weight problem and be so great for diabetics. Time and research has proven this false and more recent studies have shown the outcome to be just the opposite, with users gaining more weight and having worse health.   Soda itself is an “anti-food” meaning it robs the body of precious minerals just to process it and get rid of it through the channels of elimination. And of course all the refined sugar in the soda is the cause of this along with the phosphoric acid that makes it fizz. The artificial sweeteners that are used instead of sugar to make it taste good to the highly sweet American palate are substances that the human body has never seen before. It takes more energy and precious nutrition to process it a...

The 3 Tastes The human body has a taste for 3 things: sugar, salt and fats. Scientists believe this is due to man’s survival needs during rough times when food was hard to come by. In good times, man would load up on sweet vegetables and fruit for energy, salt for fluid balance, enzyme formation and digestion and fats for long term energy needs and hormone formation. It all worked, however, manufactures have figured this out. They now try to get everyone to eat too much sugar considering it’s easy and cheap to acquire. Refined salt without the minerals and fried foods made with trans fats don’t go bad on grocery store shelves--restaurants can use over and over. We must realize this and be able to control our urges for un-natural “foods” that we mentally crave, especially when we are under stress. Worst of all, refined sugar acts as a drug in our bodies, similar to cocaine in its effect--its addictive ability and destructive effect on our health. ~Dr. Mark P.S. See the video “Is...

What Should I Eat?             This is a question that we’re asked all the time. And it’s a little more complex than it would seem at first glance. Our main long-term goal is to get patients off of refined flour and sugar as these are anti-nutrients. They rob the body of minerals and vitamins that the body can use repair itself or improve immune system function. We try to do this on a gradient scale as the person is able to increase their mineral intake which helps to reduce the cravings for sugar. Sugar creates an endorphin release when consumed and this is what causes the almost addictive nature of sweets.             At Natural Health, we strive to reduce patients’ addiction to sugar over time but understand that it is there. This means that we cannot give you the perfect diet sheet because one diet doesn’t work for everyone all the time during your treatment. This ...

What is Nutrition Response Testing? NRT is probably very different from anything you may have experienced before. Although it is very precise and scientific, if we were to analyze you using NRT without an explanation you may find it strange or mysterious. We felt similarly when we first encountered it and, therefore, have studied it extensively to see if it really worked. We are happy we did because it has helped us greatly improve our own health and with NRT, we may be able to help you improve yours. It is important for you to understand Nutrition Response Testing™ because it is the foundation upon which we base our recommendations, and if you don’t understand it you may be less likely to follow through with our advice. To put it simply, if you don’t follow through with our advice, you won’t get well and if you are not going to get well, why begin in the first place? The good news is that by using NRT, most clients experience 90% or better improvement in their overall health. ...