Southlake Texas Chiropractor Dr. Jennifer Beights serving Southlake, Keller, Grapevine, Roanoke, Westlake, Bedford, Hurst

Welcome to the new Wholistic Healing Chiropractic Website! Our new website is easier to navigate and now includes a search function. Hope you enjoy it!

-Dr. Jennifer Beights

2010 is already off to a great start! If you’re looking for better ways to make this the best year yet, try this healthy tip.

Seasonal eating. Foods in season are fresh and generally healthier. Our bodies were made to eat seasonal foods because that is when these foods will naturally have more flavor and thus be more enjoyable to eat.

Here are some examples of fruits and vegetables available during the seasons:

Spring: Artichokes, asparagus, green beans, honeydew melon, limes, mangoes, oranges, pineapple, spinach, sugar snap peas, and onions

Summer: Apricots, bell peppers, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, corn, cucumbers, grapes, honeydew melon, nectarines, plums, raspberries, strawberries, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini

Fall: Acorn squash, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, cranberries, grapes, pears, sweet potatoes, turnips, and winter squash

Winter: Apples, Belgian endive, chestnuts, dates, grapefruit, kiwifruit, oranges, pears, persimmons, sweet potatoes, tangerines, turnips, and winter squash

Because organic foods are grown seasonally, it will be easier to eat organic as well! For a more plentiful list of seasonal foods in Texas, check out: http://www.picktexas.com/product/produce_avail_main.htm

Be well!

Dr. Beights

Just for our patients this New Year, new pricing makes massage therapy affordable and attainable.  Keep your resolution to take care of yourself this year and make an appointment this week!

Customized massage
One Hour – $75

Cranio-Sacral Sessions
45 minutes – $60
90 minutes – $95

Call 469-867-2884 to schedule your massage.

The holidays are right around the corner and you know what that means…feasts and parties! With the holidays bringing in flu and cold season, don’t you want to eat your pumpkin pie and enjoy it, too? Here are some great tips to keep you happy and healthy through the holiday season.

• Moderation is key. If you really want to enjoy that piece of pumpkin pie, skip the candied cranberry sauce and yeast rolls. Overloading your system with sugar or foods that easily convert to sugar can cause a major decline in the ability of your white blood cells to fight off germs.
• Prepare ahead. Remember last year when you chatted the night away with coworkers at the holiday party and ended up with only 4 hours of sleep? If you know it will be a late night, catch a few extra Z’s in the nights beforehand as well as after. Aim for 7-9 hours a night. They had a full buffet of desserts that you just couldn’t say “No” to? Consume about 300 less calories for a day or two before and after that big calorie-fest.
• Optimize your vitamin D. Not only is it great for bone health but it’s powerful to your immune system! Check out my earlier blog for detailed info.
• De-stress your day. Stressed out? Take a breath and make a laugh! Deep breathing exercises have been proven to lower blood pressure and relax muscles and deep-bellied laughs have shown to raise natural killer cells and interferons. If stress is overtaking your day, make sure you are getting adjusted more often to help balance out that nervous system. Keeping your body in a sympathetic state too long will surely make you susceptible to illness.
• Make it berry merry. Eat berries regularly to increase your vitamin C levels as well as your powerful antioxidants (cancer fighters).
• Get a whole body checkup. Make an appointment to make sure you aren’t in need of extra supplements or boosts to your nervous system to get healthy. Chiropractic care has been proven to boost the immune system and prevent illness.

If you are concerned about your health or have any other questions about the upcoming cold and flu season, don’t hesitate to contact me. Make it a great holiday season this year!

-Dr. Jennifer Beights

Before refrigeration, we had to depend on color, smell and the consistency of our food to know whether it was edible. Now, 90% of all of the money that Americans spend on food goes to fast food giants. So why do we reach for the two all beef patties, special sauce, onions, cheese, pickles, lettuce on a sesame seed bun instead of carrot sticks and apples slices?

Well, turns out canning, freezing, dehydrating and storing food gives it a cardboard taste. No one wants something that tastes of cardboard. So what’s a fast food chain to do? Take it to the lab. Chemical factories came to the rescue in an attempt to reproduce the original taste of foods. That unique taste that a fast food burger has actually comes from a scientist in a white lab coat applying a few drops of specialized chemicals dubbed “flavoring.” Some even got smart and started claiming “natural flavoring.” Don’t be fooled; there is little to no difference between natural flavor and artificial flavor. Both are man made additives doing what they do best-enticing your sense of smell. Up to 90 % of flavor comes from the aroma of food.  Our taste buds can account for bitter, sweet, salty and sour but our sense of smell is where it’s at. Basically, the science behind the scent of your perfume is the same as the one that is added to give flavoring to your sausage biscuit.

Maybe one day we will all be able to buy a big vial of burger essence to sprinkle on our carrot sticks and save ourselves calories.  At least then we would know there was some sort of nutritional value behind the flavor. As is, the nutritional value to a fast food burger is about the same as eating the plastic wrapping surrounding it. Don’t let the nostalgic aromas get to you, reach for the carrot stick instead.

-Dr. Jennifer Beights

What is a balanced diet? The food pyramid has changed over the years and it can be confusing trying to decide portions and balance of food choices. Food combinations are usually very important and can vary from one person to the next, but in general there are two major food groups you should always have on your plate, protein and vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are best but more colorful veggies are great alternatives to change up the routine.

Protein choices vary depending on your health and metabolism. Just remember, fat is necessary in your diet but best from food sources other than animal so lean cuts of meat are generally healthier. Healthy fats can be found by eating avocados, walnuts, fish and using coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil.

Things to avoid when deciding on what to feed your family include alternative sweeteners, processed food, high fructose corn syrup and dairy. Try to avoid meals that contain too many starches like heavy pastas and breads. Vegetables actually count as a carbohydrate so adding high starch items is usually overkill on the carbs.

For more information on what food choices you should be making, I recommend reading “Eat Right 4 Your Type” by Peter D’Adamo or “Take Control of Your Health” by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

-Dr. Jennifer Beights

There is a common misconception when it comes to skin damage from the sun. The sun is actually something to welcome because it helps us to get Vitamin D. *Vitamin D is a valuable nutrient that can help prevent osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer and can even effect diabetes and obesity.

Vitamin D is produced naturally from UVB rays. The sun gives off both UVA and UVB rays but the UVB rays are the only ones that are beneficial. However, UVA rays can penetrate through glass, unlike UVB and they can also penetrate much deeper. UVA therefore may be the real culprit behind photoaging, wrinkles and skin cancer. The real kicker? Most sunscreens today do a pretty good job filtering out the good rays, UVB, while letting through skin-damaging UVA light. Even a sunscreen with SPF 8 can block up to 95% of Vitamin D synthesis. Furthermore, many sunscreens contain major toxic chemicals that your body is absorbing. Your best bet is to avoid the sunscreens altogether! Does this mean to soak up the sun without any protection? Absolutely not.

The best way you can catch some “D’s?”…start getting your sunlight in ten minute increments. Most of us produce about 20,000 units of vitamin D after about twenty minutes in the sun. That is one hundred times more than the government says you need every day. So, at ten minutes a day, you are still getting the vitamin D that your body needs and you aren’t harming your skin by absorbing too many UVA rays. The most important thing to remember when out in the sun…don’t get burned! If you are going to be in prolonged sun exposure and are at risk of a sunburn use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. They are nontoxic and block out harmful UVAs.

http://www.naturalnews.com/003069.html

-Dr. Jennifer Beights

It is well known that monosodium glutamate has severe side effects. It can poison your nervous system and cause things like headaches, tremors, mood swings, hives, heart palpitations, seizures and even death. It has been classified as a neuro-degenerative causing agent. Some neuro-degenerative diseases include Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.

Do you know what to look for to avoid MSG in the foods you may be buying? Because MSG has been considered a preservative, it may not read “monosodium glutamate” on your labels. Know what to look for and you can avoid physical symptoms of neurotoxicity.

Here is a list of additives that ALWAYS contains MSG:
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour

Here is a list of additives that FREQUENTLY contain MSG:
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices

Here is a list that MAY contain MSG:
Carregeenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Caseinate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate

Make sure these “preservatives” aren’t in the foods you are eating and keep your nerves free flowing!

- Dr. Jennifer Beights