7 Health Secrets - Your Genes Don’t Control Your Destiny
This is the first clip in our 7 Health Secrets podcast series, available on ITunes - simply search for McKinley Chiropractic!
Dr. McKinley discuss epigenetics and the fact that your genetic code doesn’t determine your life.
Enjoy!
I want to extend the most heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you whom have trusted our knowledge, care, and service at our Wellness Center for the last (7!) years. Today is our official anniversary since opening our doors in 2002. Without all of your referrals of friends and love ones it just would not have been possible. You have understood our message that the chiropractic lifestyle is essential for wellness, and is not just about fixing bad backs. It is all about restoring function and improving neurological efficiency so the body can self heal at more optimum levels. In closing, I want to forward a link about the healthiest people on the planet. It clearly proves that genes are not the biggest factor! As we always teach, lifestyle is the answer.
Yours in Health,
Heath McKinley, D.C.
For those of you who remember the name, Willie Gault, the wide receiver on our beloved ‘85 Bears Team, you may find this link amazing regarding his continued success in keeping his body at top conditioning level. At 48 years old, he is competing with 20 year old Olympic track stars and beating them! I know you’ll love the story, but what I hope some of you think of like I did is what are we doing each day to improve our mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual dimensions of our health. What possibilities lie ahead if we just choose to do even one thing better consistently. Most people truly think health automatically deteriorates with age, yet we see people everyday in our office doing things they couldn’t do 20 years ago.
I’m certainly not saying we should all attempt to be the fastest man at 50 years of age, but maybe we want to be able to keep up with our kids on bike rides, have the energy to get out of bed early and be excited to tackle each day as if it were Christmas morning, reduce our need for anxiety and pain meds due to our bodies inability to adapt to our stress, enjoy a cup of coffee rather than be adicted to 5 cups just for survival, or even just simple things like smiling more, loving more, and being thankful more. All of these things are possible with a little consistent action each day. I suggest starting today rather than waiting for problems, pain, and anxiety to show up in the form of symptoms.
Be proactive because you want to!
Much Respect,
Dr.M
ps….Due to overwhelming demand during our Patient Appreciation Week last week, we have
extended the Free friends and family referrals until the end of the Month. We are so
grateful to have so many practice members who truly want everyone they know to experience
wellness. Keep spreading the word!
Dr. McKinley demonstrates the safe and gentle adjusting techniques used with his son, Nico.
For those of you who couldn’t make it, you missed an incredible night at Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Bistro on Linclon Ave. We had about 50 people turn out for the presentation of, “7 Health Secrets Even You MD Doesn’t Know.”
I had so many of you come up to me afterwards during dinner to thank us for sharing my passion about the many truths that YOU, the consumer, are unaware of regarding so many over-the-counter and prescription meds that are literally destroying the health of this great nation. One woman in particular was from Estonia in Eastern Europe, and she mentioned how she had never heard of a doctor’s office give such an educational yet entertaining event for their community. I tried to explain to her that this isn’t common in the United States, which is why we do it. We feel obligated to get the message out that so-called modern medicine is not the answer to health. While it may be helpful in some circumstances, most people are being bamboozled into think they need a pill for
everything.
Another woman asked a question during the lecture about her father in law, whom is in his 60’s and taking Blood Pressure and Cholesterol meds. She stated how concerned she was that he thinks he is “OK” because now his numbers look good on paper, yet his lifestyle of no exercise and nightly ice cream scoops, with a beer belly to boot haven’t changed a bit! She was frustrated that his doctors haven’t tried to address this. She wanted to know what she could do to help him understand that just because he is taking medication,
it doesn’t mean he is functioning better. This is such a difficult situation in so many, many ways. But I’ll try to answer this frustration dilemma the best I can in this email, for those of you with similar concerns.
The first problem is that people are being told they are healthier when their blood pressure, cholesterol, or even bone density scores, measure better on paper after taking the prescription medication to help “thier numbers.” The fact is that a guy who is still 50 pounds overweight with a terrible diet and no exercise is not somehow “Miraculously” ok after popping a pill!!!! The reason why is that his body is not actually functioning better, which prevents his body from making the necessary changes to fix the problem.
Don’t even get me started on the potential side effects, which that alone should be reason enough to not take these “Preventative Drugs,” which how can you call something preventative when it causing something else? Just read the label on the drugs they want people to take? It is scary. You see, the medications are only addressing the symptom that is the result of the problem.
The second problem is more psychological. People generally think they are ok if they feel fine. This is very similar to not having your car tuned up or having the oil changed until you hear a bad noise coming from the engine. We are taught since childhood that if you feel fine you are healthy? Then maybe you are smart enough to have a physical exam, such as a prostate exam, mammagram, colonoscopy, or stress test, which all only tell you if you have disease, but don’t tell you how close you are to getting it. So you see, someone can walk out of an exam for their heart in which they pass the ridiculously easy treadmill test, which compares their ability to other sick people not to really healthy people, and feel good because the doctor says, “You passed, in which he really means, “You didn’t fail”…..There is a really big difference you know. Just ask any parent….”Do you want your kids to pass with flying colors or JUST NOT FAIL?” I guess it depends on if you care or not too!
I hope everyone is getting the point here. Health is more about how you function not just how you feel. The current medical model is failing this country and the average American over 55 years of age is taking 8-10 prescription drugs a day! Preventative Health measure through better chemistry isn’t working…just look at the numbers. Lipitor for example made 25 BILLION with a “B” in profits last year, yet all peer reviewed studies show better exercise and diet is much more effective, with no side effects. They are now trying to get Lipitor approved for children, to prevent them from having heart disease as adults…..ARE THEY SERIOUS? They are because it would help them extend their patent rights on the drug. If you actually think it is not about money you are living under a pretty BIG rock. Wake up and save your family from this destructive and damaging way of thinking that is rotting our nation to the core! My own father even woke up just in time. He had a heart attack two years ago at age 59. He was one of the 25% who don’t die the first time they have one. He finally decided then to start listening to me. He is now 62 and functioning great. He takes ZERO
prescription medications, walks a mile everyday, eats a ton of fruits and vegetables, and visits a wellness practitioner every other week such as his doctor of chiropractic to help balance his nervous system and body structure and function. He still sees his medical doctor, but once a year because that is just an appointment to tell him if any disease is present. He sees his chiropractor twice a month minimum to help maintain
health and function by addressing the cause naturally! He decided to be healthy by choice and by being pro-active not re-active. I hope for you the reader, you won’t need a heart attack to wake you up like it took for my very lucky Dad.
Much Respect,
Dr. McKinley
Welcome to McKinleyChiroTV. We’ll be posting highlights from events, video podcasts on current health topics and trends, content from guests, and more, all with the aim of bringing the very best health information to you, our patient.
This week we’re going to get started with a simple, but very important question….”What is Health?”
Dr. Heath McKinley
Do you want to be your best, or do you have to be your best? As we move into 2009 with our respective vision of what life has in store for another year, many of you may be at the brink of another failed New Year’s Resolution. One of the more common questions I like to ask when someone sets a resolution is why are you doing yoga, kickboxing, a cleanse diet, starting chiropractic care, joining a walking group, stretching, taking vitamins, personal training, taking guitarlessons, planning a second baby, buying a new house, starting a new job, quiting your old job, leaving a relationship you currently hate, etc? Are you doing them because you HAVE to or because you WANT to?
Only you really know that answer. The more you feel you HAVE to do as opposed to WANT to do eventually leads to burn out, and another failed, yet well intended resolution. For example, someone may feel that they HAVE to eat vegetables more often or they HAVE to stop drinking diet coke, yet they WANT to have more energy and less headaches. If that person is focusing on the HAVE to stop portion it will most likely be a short lived resolution because they are not focusing on the more abundant vision of the life they actually WANT, a life with more energy and no headaches.
The want stems from purpose. If your purpose is weak, so will your new adopted habit. For example two people may want to exercise more often. The first person has a purpose of “I don’t want to be a size 15 anymore.” The second person has a purpose of “I want to be a great example for my kids so they choose to grow up healthy too, and I’ll have more energy to take on the volunteer activity I’ve always wanted to do but never had the energy.” You see, both want to exercise more, but one WANTS to a lot more than the other! One has a positive purpose, while the other is a little negative in its approach. Neither are wrong, but they will have different results not because of the action, which is the same…exercise, but because of the
purpose behind the action.
I hope these examples give a little clarity for introspection of your 2009 goals. Most people truly do WANT some kind of change to come into their life, but few take the necessary time to evaluate their purpose. I hope you choose to revisit yours as we roll in to 2009!
Much Respect,
Dr. M
MSNBC - Early flu season cases are resisting Tamiflu
The drug companies and their researchers are seemingly baffled again early into the flu season! At least the public can finally start to see that taking medication or getting a shot doesn’t buy you immunity. The best bet is playing offense by doing the things that make us stronger naturally like getting adjusted regularly, getting off our butts and working out, staying positive, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, etc…..
Sign up for our dinner party in January to have fun and learn time proven strategies to boost immunity and slow the aging process, including why Dr. McKinley would NEVER take the flu shot!! Call our office for details.
Thanksgiving is over and the holidays are approaching, I hope all of you are starting to have those warm, snuggle up to the fireplace moments, with hot chocolate and warm apple cider to boot! I’m sure you are hustling about, whether it is down Elston to visit Target, Home Depot, or Best Buy for some last minute sales, or maybe the annual trip to State Street or the Magnicifent Mile. Family and friends are having holiday parties, snow is in the air, and the kids are trying to peek at their presents under the tree. I truly love the holidays, and I sincerely hope you are making it special as well.
I also wanted to take this moment, as your doctor, to make sure you are taking care of your body during these stressful times. As you have probably heard me talk about before, not all stress is bad, in fact holiday times bring about tons of good stress. Even though it is good, it still can take a toll on your body. Obviously, during this time of year it is difficult, if not impossible to keep our typical healthy routine on track, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget about our body until January 10th, 2009. As you read this newsletter, I want you to try to think of just one or two things that you can do to maintain your health this year. Maybe you try to eat 10% better than you normally would, or try one movement oriented activity like ice skating or walking through the Lincoln Park Zoo to look at the Christmas lights. Grab a good book (we’ve recommended a couple) or call up and reconnect with an old friend on Christmas Eve. It doesn’t have to be hard, it’s all about trying. Remember out health is determine by our choices; I choose to be happy and healthy this holiday season. I know you’ll do the same!
Yours in Health
Dr. Heath McKinley
Welcome to McKinley Chiropractic’s new Wellness Blog. We plan on using this space to keep you, our valued patient, informed on current events, health care trends, and on our thoughts on health and wellness. Please check back frequently and feel free to comment. We hope to develop a community of patients, friends, and family members all working towards educating ourselves on health and wellness, and striving to live the best lifestyle we can!
Dr. Arthur and Dr. McKinley
