Food for Thought: A Carbohydrate Story
Welcome to the Core CPT Newsletter!
As this new year is quickly getting underway, we want to begin sending out a quarterly newsletter to encourage you all in your efforts to better your health each and every day. We at Core Chiropractic and Physical Therapy are committed to serving you in as many ways as possible. As most of you know, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary last fall (see photos in our gallery) and we are anxiously anticipating many new & exciting opportunities this year as well, with the first being the expansion of our Las Colinas office! Come in and visit us soon ~ we look forward to working with you…
Patient Spotlight
Core CPT’s very own Travis Lutter will compete for the UFC World Championship on February 3rd @ 9p.m. CST. Contact your PAY-PER-VIEW provider and ask for UFC 67: All or Nothing or go to UFC On Demand to watch online.
Check out www.ufc.com for more information.
Good Luck Travis!!!
Meet Dr. Brown
We are pleased to announce the addition of our newest doctor and team member, Dr.James Brown.
Dr. James Brown received his Bachelor of Science degree in May on 2002 from Dallas Christian College. He then received his Doctorate of Chiropractic in December of 2006 from Parker College of Chiropractic.
Dr. Brown is a former United States Marine. His hobbies include travel, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and snowboarding.
Food for Thought: A Carbohydrate Story
At Core Chiropractic we design our treatments to address many of the more common musculoskeletal conditions associated with everyday wear and tear. In, addition we strive to prevent chronic disease processes, optimize your weight, slow premature aging and enhance life. With that in mind, this series of information is dedicated to nutrition and the compelling issue of grains and sugars as it applies to your weight management and controlling mitigating factors of chronic diseases.
If you made no other adjustments to your lifestyle/diet but eliminating or seriously reducing grains and sugars it is likely your health would rapidly improve and within days you would start losing weight. Within weeks you would have a very noticeable improvement in your overall health. Within months, in addition to the dramatic health and weight management, you would also be experiencing a tremendous increase in your energy, mental acuity, and positive focus. Continue with the program beyond that, and you will significantly extend the time you spend enjoying life.
Now, take into consideration that this kind of change, like any other, takes some getting used to, and you will need all the help you can get to master the cravings and stick to it. The facts are that 95% of the grains consumed in the US are processed, which strips them of what limited nutritional value they do have. Those with specific disease processes have additional concerns with grains and sugars as they are directly related to flare-ups of conditions such as Celiac Disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and Diabetes, which affect a greater number of Americans every year.
Avoiding grains and sugars has been popularized by the recent low-carb dieting rage. Although low-carb dieting is effective for weight loss, the low-carb approach misses the fact that you need carbohydrates in your diet, at varying levels depending on your activity level. There are good carbs that should compose most of your carbohydrate intake, and they are found mostly in high fiber vegetables that grow above ground. Your body actually prefers these complex carbs because they slow the release of simple carbohydrates, like glucose, and decrease your insulin levels. Insulin is the fat-building hormone in the body; therefore, increases in insulin cause weight gain. On the other hand, the “troublesome” carbs that you need to reduce or eliminate from your diet are found in grains, sugars and sugary foods, as well as starchy vegetables like potatoes. These carbohydrates will increase your insulin levels and tend to promote weight gain and illness. So, physiologically it is primarily your body’s response to the overindulgence of grain and sugars, not your intake of fat, which makes you gain fat weight.
Consuming sugar also impairs your white blood cell function and thereby decreases your body’s immune system response, making you more vulnerable to disease. To make things more interesting, high insulin levels also lower two very important hormones -glucagon and growth hormone which are responsible for burning fat and sugar and promoting muscle development. In addition, insulin causes the body to feel hungry, usually for SWEETS. Your body has a limited capacity to store carbs, but it can easily convert those excess carbohydrates, via insulin, into body fat; which means the more excess carbs, the more body fat, thereby causing an overwhelming overweight epidemic.
In closing, please appreciate that everything in moderation addresses weight management according to non-specific food items; the fact is that decreasing foods like selected grains and sugars can and will help you loss the weight AND increase your quality of life. These lifestyle changes plus consistent exercise open the gateway to your health and happiness.
Here’s to a happy and healthy 2007!
Comments, questions, suggestions…please feel free to contact us directly at any time.
We are here for you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Stephen Ward
drward@corecpt.com
Dr. Michael Schnappauf
drmike@corecpt.com
Tel: 972.393.8067
Fax: 972.393.6959
Web: corecpt.com