| | Practice Announcement! The office will be closed Monday, February 18 in observence of President's Day! | | Beef- Is It Really All That Bad For You? by Dr. John W Phelts That depends on what type of beef you eat. You are what you eat and cows are no exception to the rule. There are basically two types of beef: Grass-fed and Grain-fed. Because of the difference in their diets, there is a huge contrast between their nutrient content.
Grass-fed beef is much lower in fat than grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef contains more DHA (a super omega-3) than fish oil. It is also high in another omega-3, CLA, which is a proven fat burner and cancer fighter. The high omega-3 content of grass fed beef comes from the chloroplasts in the grass and green leaves that make up their diet.
Grain-fed beef contains much lower amounts of omega-3s. It also contains more than double the amount of fat than grass-fed beef. I wouldn’t be surprised if grain fed beef is fattier, because of the sugar spikes resulting from their high carbohydrate diet. Commercial grain-fed beef is also pumped with growth hormone, antibiotics, and heavy metals which can make you toxic and put more stress on your liver.
Grass-fed beef is a lot more expensive than grain-fed, but if you are a steak lover, it is more than worth it. Grass-fed beef is harder to find than grain-fed, because it is not found in most supermarkets. Whole-Foods Markets usually stock their shelves with it and you can also find it served at some high-end steak-houses.
My Personal Observance About The Diet Of Cattle I worked on a family friend’s dairy farm as a teenager. The cows were on a combination diet of grass and grain, as they were let out to graze for about 6-8 hours each day. Interestingly enough, the corn that they were fed was barely digested, which was evidenced by the visible undigested whole kernels in their manure. Also, of interesting note is that when the cows would break through the fence, they never went into the corn fields picking ears of corn. They preferred to stay on the grassy land to graze, which leads me to believe that their natural diet is that of the healthier grass, not grains. | | Contact: Phone: 212.286.2012 e-mail: jphelts@doctorphelts.com website: www.DrPhelts.com | | Quote of the Month:
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilage it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love"
- Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor) | | | | Chiropractic May Improve The Body's Immune Response  Chiropractic treatment has long been shown to be effective for specific symptoms like back pain and neck pain. New research is beginning to investigate the more subtle ways that chiropractic can improve health. A recent study found that spinal manipulation may boost the functioning of the immune system, even in patients with no specific pain issue. Researchers from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College investigated the effect of spinal manipulation on interleukin-2, a signaling protein that controls immune responses. They selected 74 test subjects with no current symptoms or recent history of manipulation. The patients were randomly assigned to three treatment groups to receive either a control venipuncture treatment or two types of spinal manipulation. All treatments were administered on a single day, and blood samples were collected before each treatment, 20 minutes after the treatment and two hours after treatment. The blood samples were compared to see if there was any increase in the levels of certain antibodies: induced immunoglobin G (IgG) and immunoglobin M (IgM). These two antibodies generally appear in the bloodstream in response to an infection, and they are powerful tools of the immune system. The researchers found that subjects treated with spinal manipulation with cavitation had significantly increased levels of IgG and IgM within 20 minutes after the session. After two hours, these patients had significantly elevated IgM levels compared to baseline and the control group. These findings suggest that spinal manipulation can have what they call a "priming" effect on the body's immune response, possibly resulting in faster responses to new infections. Although more study is needed to better explain this response, this research provides fascinating evidence that spinal manipulation may affect the functioning of the body's immune system and assist in maintaining overall health. Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA, McGregor M, Ruegg R, Injeyan HS. Interleukin 2-regulated in vitro antibody production following a single spinal manipulative treatment in normal subjects. Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010, 18:26 | | Do This After A Meal To Burn Extra Calories And Control Body Fat by Dr. John W Phelts  A new study reveals that walking after a meal can significantly increase metabolism and control blood sugar levels. The study was released by the Center for Clinical Investigation, Case Medical School, Case Western Reserve University. The purpose of the study was to observe the effects of physical activity after eating in Type I diabetics. The subjects included a healthy control group of 5 men and 7 women who were of normal weight and in their late 30s, and a
Type 1 diabetic group of 5 men and 7 women in their late 30s. The participants ate three meals a day. Two of the meals were followed by walking for 90 minutes (the distance walked averaged less than two miles). One of the meals was followed by inactivity/rest for six hours. The subjects were provided identical diets and wore special suits and monitors that recorded their every move and monitored their glucose levels in a clinical setting for three days.
The results revealed that walking after a meal dramatically increased the metabolism of the participants. Below are the results of the control group’s metabolic rates. | Activity | Metabolic Rate | | At rest (Basal metabolic rate/BMR): | 0.84 kcal/h/kg | | Standing | 1.17 (40% increase over BMR) | | Walking 1 mph | 2.41 (186% increase over BMR) | | Walking 2 mph | 3.08 (266% increase over BMR) | | Walking 3 mph | 4.02 (378% increase over BMR) |
When you do cardiovascular exercises like walking, the elliptical machine, or bicycling for at least 20-30 minutes, your body goes into fat-burning mode and starts to burn a higher percentage of fat compared to carbohydrates. Not only that, but even after you finish exercising, your body continues to burn fat at a higher rate for another 3-4 hours (scientists call this post-exercise oxygen consumption). You can get this benefit from doing cardio at any time of the day, not only after a meal.
The study also revealed that walking after a meal favorably impacts blood glucose levels. The researchers found that in both groups, the subjects’ blood glucose was more than twice as high when they rested after a meal compared to when they engaged in physical activity after eating. This is great news for those who are trying to lose weight or maintain their ideal weight. You may have heard it said before that sugar can make you fat- and that statement is true. When you eat a meal that is high in sugar your glucose levels spike. The body responds to this spike by releasing lots of insulin hormone. Insulin tends to causes the body to store fat, instead of using it to burn energy.
Doing cardio directly after a meal can be most useful when you slip-up on your diet and have that dessert that you weren’t supposed to have (like haagen-dazs pineapple coconut ice cream?). It will provide some much needed damage control, so that it won’t be a huge setback in attaining your ideal weight. I am not advocating cheating, because when you cheat it will slow down your progress and continual cheating can halt your progress altogether. What I am saying is that “if” you do have a moment of weakness, cardio can minimize the setback.
Tip: If you are not able to walk outside, you may want to consider purchasing a treadmill or some other type of cardiovascular exercise machine. That way, instead of sitting, you can exercise while watching your favorite TV show. If you watch a ½ hour show while exercising you meet the minimum requirement of 20-30 minutes needed to fire up your fat burning furnace. If you watch a one hour show that you DVR’d so that you can fast forward through commercials, that’s 45 minutes of exercise. You kill two birds with one stone, and you will look great at your perfect weight this coming spring. | | About Dr. Phelts:  Dr. John W. Phelts has been a licensed chiropractor since 2003. Dr. Phelts specializes in the treatment of conditions of the neck, shoulder, low back, hip, thigh, knee, elbow and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. He has developed a seamless method for treating these disorders without the use of drugs or surgery. As a chiropractor, he uses a "whole person approach" when taking care of his patients. By combining the very best hands-on-technique, state of the art physiotherapy procedure, and providing the newest and best natural vitamins, mineral, and herbal supplements on the market today, Dr. Phelts is able to help you to accelerate and/or maintain your journey to good health. His goal is always to restore your health to pre-injury status or better.
| | |