Learn from Pottenger's Cats

Happy and Healthy Wednesday,

I am on my soap box today! This is a call to action!

This week is the last week of the summer holidays for a lot of kids and many of you have begun the process of getting ready form them to go back to school. Yeah! I can hear some parents and kids saying! This week after reading some really heart breaking facts from the surgeon general that childhood obesity is on the rise and that kids ages 6-11 years old could be the first generation NOT to outlive their parents due to the early onset of crippling lifestyle diseases, I wanted to challenge you all to jump on the soap box with me and start a revolution to turn this around.

Parents and Teachers you influence your kids more than you know so I challenge you to start the conversation around good for you foods with your kids and also start to use your voice re: the foods available at school. Even though I started today's WW with a little doom and gloom I am hopeful that we can turn this around. Enjoy today's article on regeneration. I probably should have called it Regeneration Nation? Maybe there is a book in there?

Dr Pia

“Regeneration”

The Process of Renewal and Replacement

By Dr Pia Martin DC CCN

We have often heard the term “ The Body can heal itself”. Daily we are building a new body. Our bodies break down constantly and we see this every day as our skins sloughs off dead cells or we lose a few hairs as we brush or comb our hair. These are just a few of the many examples of renewal and replacement.

Each day the body, which consists of 80 to 100 trillion cells, breaks down at a rate of 24 billion cells a day. These cells need to be replaced at the same rate and supplied with the right nutrients in order to rebuild and have constant renewal. If not we have a process called Degeneration. We need to provide the body with the right building blocks to renew and replace and regenerate. To carry on the life process, each of the 80 to 100 trillion cells must digest and construct food, excrete waste, repair themselves and carry on a number of other essentials. Every cell needs whole foods, clean water, and clean air. Therefore I would like to re-state the above term “ Given the right environment and the right nutrients the body has the power to heal itself.”

In 1932 Dr Francis M. Pottenger conducted a famous study in nutrition using cats. Dr Pottenger used the cats to study an adrenal hormone extract he was making. The cats underwent adrenalectomies, and in his efforts to maximize the preoperative health of his cats he fed them cooked meat and scraps along with cod liver oil. His friends kept donating cats to his experiments and so he had to look for additional food supplies. He began to give some of cats raw meat scraps and other foods that closely resembled their natural diet and he noticed that the cats on the diet of raw food were far healthier than the ones who ate the cooked food. This startling contrast in the health of the cats prompted Pottenger to find the answers to a variety of questions that could be important to the impact of diet and optimal human health.

The Cat Study included several generations of cats. Healthy cats were given a natural diet of raw food and cod liver oil, making them the control group. The cats he called the deficient group were placed on a diet of unnatural foods for cats which including cooked foods. The cats on the diet of cooked food soon became unhealthy, weaker and less vigorous. Cats born to the deficient cats became weaker and less healthy each generation thereafter. As a result there were never more than three generations of deficient cats because they could not produce viable off spring. There is a light at the end of this tunnel. Some of the first generation of deficient cats were placed back on an optimal diet and soon became more healthy and thrived. Pottenger went on to conduct many more experiments and wrote this definition regarding the optimal diet. “ The optimal diet is one that provides man with the nutrients essential to regenerate his body cells; to enable him to mature regularly as determined by normal osseous, physical and mental characteristics; to resist disease; to reproduce his kind”

Our diets have undergone a marked change since the 1950’s with the invention of the TV dinner, the original fast food and unfortunately the beginning of the well intended school lunch programs for our children full of cheap highly processed grains with very few fruits and vegetables. Scientists also began to find ways to add chemicals and preservatives to our food to prolong the shelf life and farmers began the process of fattening their livestock with altered grains instead of natural grasses etc. With these and other changes our consumption of simple carbs and sugar increased dramatically.

Today 95% of Americans drink soda. This is quote from The Department of Nutrition and Food Studies “ In 1970 the average soda consumption per year per person was 22.2 gallons. In 1999 that number more than doubled to 56 gallons per year.” Today the average American drinks 557 -12oz cans of soda per year. Soda provides most people with 7% of their caloric input a day. It is the highest percentage of any given food source.

This is just one example and there are many more of how our population is slowly degenerating and not surprisingly we see the increase of lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, allergies, asthma, autoimmune dysfunction etc.

Here’s the good news “ The body can regenerate and repair if given genuine replacement parts and the time to heal. It is possible to reverse the process of degeneration. Each cell, tissue, and organ in your body is in the process of replacing itself every day, month, and year. The health of each organ is determined by making the correct nutrients available to repair and regenerate at the cellular level.

Good nutrition begins with food from a good source. Eat whole foods particularly fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and grains. Ensure that your source of animal protein is free range or in the case of fish, wild. Choose good fats, like olive oil, flax seed, avocados, and butters, and drink plenty of filtered water each day. Shop at local farmers markets, whole food centers, ethnic stores or plant your own garden. Read labels and buy food that has not been altered from its original state.

Well-known health and wellness author Mary Frost says it best ”avoid the fads and trends and bold faced lies and get back to the basics of human health.”

Let’s take the steps we need to today to improve our health and the health of those around us so that we can ensure we live a healthy and long life and that our children and grand children also enjoy that legacy.

For questions or comments you can email Dr Pia at drpiamartin@gmail.com

"My Back Hurts"

Happy Healthy Wednesday,

As a Whole Person Doctor one of the most common statements I hear is " My Back Hurts " Today more than ever we spend a lot of our day / night in a flexed hunched over position. We sit rounded over for work, we slump in front of the TV and a lot of us even sleep in the fetal position. Overtime it can take a toll on your back. What is even more alarming is that I seeing younger and younger patients with old person postures! Please enjoy this article and please also spend a little time each day strengthening and stretching your back.

Soak up the rest of the summer.

“ My Back Hurts”

6 tips that can help

Dr Pia Martin DC CCN

You never know until you hurt it how much you use your lower back.

When your lower back is injured, every movement becomes painful. Simple actions, such as getting out of a chair or bending over the sink, become excruciating, and your daily routine becomes difficult and frustrating.

Back pain affects 60 to 80 percent of U.S. adults at some time during their lives, and up to 50 percent have back pain within a given year.

Back pain has many different causes, ranging from a trauma, an imbalance of repetitive movements, chemical stress from toxicity, organ damage, or emotional stressors that cause muscle tension etc however the most common cause is a sedentary lifestyle. We are spending most of our time sitting in a flexed hunched position, either at work in front of a computer, watching TV etc at home or driving in a car.

Most mechanical lower back pain is associated with tight leg muscles and weak abdominal muscles. Leg muscles need to be stretched and abdominal muscles need to be strengthened to avoid recurrences of lower back pain. Most 
people are generally not aware of these relationships.

Abdominal strengthening not only helps keep your lower back healthy, but also helps maintain good posture. Postural benefits include an easy, relaxed gait; muscles that are long and supple, rather than short and tight; and an open chest that allows for easy, smooth breathing. Your body is a machine. Everything’s connected.

The spine is a complete unit and therefore a lower back problem can affect other areas of the body, however there are things you can do to help keep your back healthy.

1. Stay fit

Weak back and abdominal muscles — due to de-conditioning or age exacerbate many cases of low back pain. That’s why stretching and strengthening both your back and abdominal muscles is important not only for treating low back pain, but also for helping to prevent a recurrence of the problem.

Stretching is a valuable component of any treatment plan for a person plagued by back problems. Most experts believe that supple, well-stretched muscles are less prone to injury. Indeed, shorter, less flexible muscle and connective tissues restrict joint mobility, which increases the likelihood of sprains and strains.

A stretching and strengthening regimen should target the back, abdominal, and buttock muscles.

2. Maintain a healthy weight

The heavier you are, the greater the load your spine must carry. To make matters worse, if the bulk of your weight comes in the form of abdominal fat, rather than muscle, your center of gravity can shift forward — a condition that puts added pressure on your back.

3. Mindfulness

Notice when you are experiencing a stressful moment and how the whole body tightens. Take a deep breath or two to relieve tension. We hide a lot of emotional pain in our bodies.

4. Quit the habit

First, nicotine hampers the flow of blood to the vertebrae and disks. This impairs their function and may trigger a bout of back pain. Second, smokers tend to lose bone faster than nonsmokers, putting them at greater risk for osteoporosis, another common cause of back pain.

5. Be less of a Turtle

We are carrying our lives on our backs and shoulders. Backpacks brief cases, extra large duffels and purses have become ubiquitous — at school, at work, at play.

For school kids opt for backpacks that have different-sized compartments to help distribute weight evenly. And look for wide, padded straps and a padded back. For very heavy loads, use a case with wheels.

6. Develop back-healthy habits

• Don’t remain sitting or standing in the same position for too long. Stretch, shift your position, or take a short walk when you can.

• Use you legs and hips when lifting a heavy object

• Ensure that your workstation at work is ergonomically sound.

Last but no least there are great practitioners out there than can help you improve the health of your back. They range from Chiropractors, Nutritionists, Acupuncturists, Massage Therapists, Fitness Trainers, Yoga Teachers etc. You do not have to suffer but you do need to take action.

A Healthy Gut is Key to our Health!

The language of our deepest feelings, our instincts, and how we experience emotion often involves the Gut.

We have all heard the expressions " A gut reaction" , "Butterflies in our stomach" and "Gut wrenching" These are our verbal expressions of instinctive knowledge manifesting physically. It is therefore no surprise that our true health shows through the challenges we experience in our gastrointesintal tract. Some researchers are calling our gut the second brain.

There are millions upon millions of microorganisms living in our gut. In fact about 4-8 pounds of body weight consists of bacteria. That is a WOW right there! Most of us know that it is important to make sure that we have enough of the good bacteria in our gut to keep the bad bacteria from overtaking and creating an imbalance in our bodies. Unfortunately due to the overuse of antibiotics, the SAD american diet, (bad guys love love love sugar and simple carbs) stress, constipation, low HCL (stomach acid) production in the stomach etc the good gut flora, Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are over run by the bad bacteria. This leads to a depressed immune system and then over time we begin to see the signs of autoimmune disfunction where the body does not recognize itself and it starts to destroy it's own cells.

One of the most important functions of the good gut flora is to support immune function. 80% of immune function is in the gut, so an imbalance can lead to all kinds of health problems. The body's primary exposure to an immune challenge is in the digestive tract. Seventeen out of the Twenty one known inteferons (sentinel like soldiers who search out harmful toxins ) are produced in the gut. A Healthy Gut is key to Great Health!

Here are only a few of the diseases and disorders linked to Dysbiosis;

IBS, Crohn's, Colitis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Candida, Food Allergies, Asthma, Gas, Bloating, Diarrhea/Constipation, Chronic skin conditions, Anxiety, Depression, Blood sugar problems, Hormone imbalances and the list goes on.

A simple GI Flora Balance protocol is the answer. What you need to do is Cleanse, Feed, Restore and Balance your Gut. You essentially need to Reboot the Balance in the Gut. It's a sensitive issue for most of us and we often are reluctant to seek help. In my opinion we can't afford not to address this issue. Our Goal is to help you take back control of your health and thrive.

As always if you need my help or know someone who does I can be reached by email or

PH: 214 869-6404.

Have a healthy Day

Dr Pia