Don't Let the Heat Hurt Your Back!

Is the heat wearing you down this summer?  Are you finding yourself sitting on the couch watching more television because it is too hot to play outside?  If this applies to you, be careful as increased levels of couch surfing can lead to weak irritated low back muscles.  Early signs of faulty low back mechanics include stiffness when standing from a seated position, cramps in your butt muscles, and tightness when bending forward.  If you are experiencing these symptoms, come to my office now before you develop a worse condition.  If you want to try some home remedies, you can stand up and stretch the front of your thighs by pulling your foot behind your butt.  Hold this stretch for 30 seconds, and then perform on the other leg.

Running Essentials

Running season is about to kick into full gear. Most runners have a ritual of going to their specialty shoe store and having a basic foot evaluation in order to purchase an overpriced running shoe.  Have you ever stopped to think about what they are looking at in their evaluations?  Most shoe stores, orthotic companies, and/or doctors look at feet and try to create this mythical foot position that is symmetrical between the left and right feet.  I have heard countless statements such as, "you pronate too much", or, "you supinate too much".  After you listen to these statements you walk out of the store with a "corrective" shoe that will make changes to the mechanics of your foot while running. 

I have some bad news for all of you runners who think this is a good idea. All feet are not equal. It is normal to have different angles and types of movement from one foot to the other.  Before you purchase a custom shoe, orthotic, or any other foot correction device come see me at my office.  There are 26 bones in the feet that are supposed to move and glide with each other in order to absorb and produce normal forces during running.  If any one of these bones is not moving properly you will have an altered gait when running.  Does it make sense to get a corrective shoe or orthotic that was molded to an improperly moving foot?  The answer is no.  As an extremity adjusting doctor, I can properly examine your foot in order to restore motion to the immobile joints prior to having an orthotic or shoe fit to you.  This will make all the difference in your running, speed, and comfort.

The Truth About Vitamin C

For years people have told us to take vitamin C to avoid colds, fight cancer, and look younger.   Does vitamin C actually live up to the hype? If so, why isn’t everyone consuming vitamin C? Can too much vitamin C hurt you? Let’s review the facts about vitamin C in order to answer the questions listed above.

Vitamin C has been proven by research studies to do the following:

1. Decrease rates of oral, esophageal, and rectal cancers
2. Act as an antioxidant
3. Turn vitamin A into its active form
4. Build collagen, which is found in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones
5. Help to kill H. pylori overgrowth in the stomach
6. Increase immune function
7. Used as a substrate for energy in the mitochondrial cells
8. Maintain healthy retina tissue in the eyes to contribute to healthy vision
9. Vitamin C has been found in large quantities in brain tissue acting as an anti-inflammatory agent to prevent degeneration
10. Used to make cortisol and norepinephrine
11. Decrease histamine levels in the body to fight off allergy attacks
12. Help to make an amino acid necessary to burn fat
13. Strengthen blood vessels and decrease risks of heart attacks and strokes
14. Act as a natural chelating agent, which binds heavy metals and toxic compounds in the body to excrete them

 How much vitamin C should you take?

There is no easy answer to this question, nor is there an easy way to measure levels of vitamin C in the body. Multiple research studies have suggested 400 mg/ day for adults will show some benefit.   Many clinicians, including myself, have found great benefit using 2000 mg 2 times per day, but dosing varies based on each individual’s health condition.

Are some forms of vitamin C better than    others?

Of course! You get what you pay for. Vitamin C is a complex structure that includes many substrates besides ascorbic acid. The benefits seen in research studies have been demonstrated using L-ascorbate form of vitamin C. Fully reduced vitamin C not exposed to any oxygen is the preferred type of vitamin C to take. The Vitamin C product I recommend is a fully reduced powder buffered with minerals. The product I carry and recommend is called Perque Potent C and can be referenced at the following link www.perque.com/potentC

For more information on vitamin C safety and dosing information please contact Dr. Pederson at 713-526-2225, or email at dr.jpederson@hotmail.com

Are Vaccinations Safe?

August is vaccination awareness month.  The goal of vaccination awareness month is to ensure all children are up to date on their vaccination schedules.  Many parents ask me what vaccinations their children should have, whether they are safe, and whether their children are at risk if they don't receive the recommended vaccinations.  There is no definitive answer to any of these questions.  Many alternative health care doctors suggest avoiding or modifing vaccination schedules.  Most conventional medical doctors insist that all children have the full amount of recommended vaccinations.  In order to help you make the best decisions for your family we will review the facts.

I have researched mortality rates of the common pathogens according to the Centers for Disease Control.

1. The latest statistics on the rotavirus infection show that 55,000 cases of hospitalized diarrhea were reported with less than 40 deaths.

2.  One thousand diptheria cases are reported annually with a 5-10% mortality rate.

3.  Before the  Polio vaccine came out, there were 13,000 - 20,000 cases reported each year, and no current Polio cases have been reported since vaccinations efforts have started.

4. In 2008 there were 131 cases of measles reported with no deaths in the United States.  Worldwide there were an estimated 900,000 deaths related to measles, most of which occured in countries not using the vaccine.

5. In 2010 there were 1,521 cases reported with 0 deaths.  Most of these cases were in isolated communities on the east coast, and most cases were reported from immigrants who had not been vaccinated.   On a side note, mumps can cause sterility in males.

6.  In 2007 4519 cases of hepatitis B were reported in children. Twenty-five percent of infants who have the virus will become chronicaly infected and die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer. 

7.  In 2010 there were 21,000 cases of Pertussis reported with 26 deaths.  Of those 26 deaths, 22 of them were children under the age of 1 year.  The number of infections have steadily risen since the 1980's despite the vaccinations starting in the 1920's.  Currently, annually there are an estimated 295,000 deaths around the world with an infection rate of approximately 48 million. 

8.  From 2001 - 2008 there were 197 reported cases of tetanus infections in the U.S.  An estimated 13% of these cases died from the infection, and an estimated 96% of these cases did not receive the vaccination.

9. Chicken pox death rates were reported from 1998 - 2001 as 14 deaths for every 1 million infected cases.  The rates of infection and death have decreased over the last few decades.

10.  In 2007 57,000 total deaths were reported as being caused or complicated by pneumonia or influenza.  The ages ranged from infants to the elderly.  The statistics did not list how many people who died from these two infections had been vaccinated.

Are vaccinations safe?  Only you can decide.  Evaluate the number of infections compared to the rates of death.  Many other developed countries who do not receive vaccinations have similiar infection and mortality rates for the infections listed above.  If you are not going to have traditional vaccinations, you might want to consider visiting Dr. Pederson in order to develop an antioxidant supplementation plan so that your immune system will have a fighting chance.