Dr. Frykman’s Vibrant Potential Blog

This seems to be the time of year when people start making goals andresolutions to improve their life. You know how it is - people starting diets to shed those holiday pounds, people wiping the dust off their treadmills, people vowing to eat better, and so on.

Have you made any goals or resolutions for this year yet?

Well, in regards to improving your health, I wanted to share a quote with you. It’s from Thomas Edison. He said:

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

This is a brilliant insight from a brilliant man.

You see, most prescription drugs don’t “heal” anything. Take high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes as examples. Does taking medicine “cure” people of these health problems? Nope.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that all drugs are bad and that there aren’t circumstances where medicine is helpful because that would be foolish. But what I am saying is that prescription drugs mostly treat symptoms and do not improve your health and wellness.

So what should all of us be doing to improve our health? Like Edison said, we should be focusing on the health of our frame, focusing on our diet, and our approach to health should be “prevention” instead of “reaction.”

Let’s talk about your “frame.” Most people simply ignore taking care of their frame and that is a tragic mistake that can have devastating consequences on your health as you age. To keep your frame healthy, you HAVE TO exercise. This is not optional. You have to get your body moving at least 3 times a week…more if possible. There are so many positive benefits to exercise that it’s crazy not to do it.

Next, your spine and nervous system are two of the most important parts of your frame. If these two areas of your frame become unhealthy then it’s impossible to have optimal health. Getting chiropractic adjustments and exercising on a regular basis will do wonders for your overall health.

The last thing I want to discuss is your mindset. My question to you is do you have a mindset of prevention or reaction? To clarify, “prevention” is when you take care of yourself on a regular basis to “prevent” yourself from losing your health as you age. A “reaction” mindset is the exact opposite. If you have a “reaction” mindset, then you basically wait until you already have a health problem before you do anything. A reaction mindset focuses on pain and symptoms. A prevention mindset focuses on health and wellness. Which is better? Without a doubt it’s the prevention mindset. Just remember, without great health, it’s hard to enjoy life. Think about it - think about the last time your body was in pain or felt tired, sore, or achy. It’s pretty hard to get things done and enjoy life when you aren’t at your best, right?

So to summarize:
1. Take really good care of your frame. Get adjusted and exercise regularly.
2. Eat better. Enough said!
3. Develop the prevention mindset. Start taking care of yourself regularly.

Don’t focus on symptoms and don’t wait until you’re already having a health crisis.

I hope this has been helpful. Have a great day and I’ll talk to you soon!

Helping you to achieve YOUR Vibrant Potential,

Dr. Chris Frykman

Shakopee, MN.

P.S. Check out a video of me adjusting my 2 hour old daughter, Emma, on my website. Video

In early January, some disturbing news hit the Internet and the papers across America regarding health care.

And it wasn’t good news.

Did you see it, or did it slip by you?

Here are some of the headlines I saw:

“US Worst in Healthcare”

“France Best, US Worst in Preventable Healthcare”

“US Health Care Ranks Poorly Compared To Other Nations”

Here’s the deal - a new study by British researchers found that more than 100,000 Americans died from health problems that could have been prevented by timely and effective health care last year.

The study by Ellen Nolte and Martin McKee of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ranks the United States last among 19 developed nations in terms of health care. France, Japan and Australia topped the list. If the US performed as good as those top 3 countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year.

They also found that all countries in the study reduced their preventable deaths over a 5 year period by 16%, but the United States improved by only 4%.

What’s sad is the United States now spends a whopping $2.1 Trillion a year on health care each year…more than $7,000 a person. The problem is this spending does not equal better health care.

So what can you do to avoid a preventable death? You’ve got to make your
health one of your top priorities and do things on a regular basis to keep
yourself as healthy as possible. Don’t allow yourself to become a victim of
our failing health care system.

If you have any questions, send me an email and we’ll chat.

Helping you achieve YOUR Vibrant Potential,

Dr. Chris Frykman

Shakopee, MN.

Hi {!firstname_fix},

This fall, there has been a lot of news about lead in toys. And while we certainly donít want our children playing with toys that could be hazardous to their health, I wanted to put this in perspective a little.

You see, there are many things that are harmful to children’s health that you’ll never see on the news, and I wanted to go over a couple of them with you.

Here are a couple things that are worse than the lead in Mattel toys

1. Fast Food

Did you know that the children in our country are the most overweight and most obese in the world? It’s true. The two biggest reasons why our children are so unhealthy is a poor diet and a lack of physical exercise.

Fast food is extremely unhealthy for children. Not only are the foods often fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and otherwise altered, they’re also laced with chemical additives, taste enhancers, processed sugars, petrochemical food coloring and other unhealthy substances.

2. Processed meats containing Sodium Nitrate

Processed meats like hot dogs are made from processed meat parts then preserved with an ingredient called sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrate is a chemical that is very harmful to the body. This ingredient has been linked to cancer in the body.

If your family eats meat, thatís okay, just shop for 100% organic, free-range, antibiotic-free meats that have no nitrites or nitrates.

3. Antibacterial soap

Antibacterial soaps are a toxic cocktail of chemicals designed to kill life. After all, thatís how it kills bacteria. The problem is that it also harms people — especially infants and children who are trying to develop healthy nervous systems. Avoid all products claiming to be “antibacterial.” You’re better off using regular soap and water and letting your child’s immune system fight off common bacteria. The world isn’t sterile, after all. You can’t turn your house into a germ-free bubble.

4. ADHD drugs

Would you ever give your child street drugs like speed or meth? Probably not, but what if your doctor wrote you a prescription for speed and said your child needed it because he was ADHD? If you’re like most parents, you’d fall in step and start giving your child speed. But wait, you say:

ADHD drugs are not speed, are they? But of course they are. They belong to a class of drugs called amphetamines.

They are a class-II narcotic that is in the same drug classification as cocaine. They used to be illegally sold as speed. Now they’re prescription drugs, and they’re given to children in schools all across America (and elsewhere). Psychiatrists and drug companies are making a killing dosing up kids and infants on substances that used to be considered illegal street drugs (and that have no legitimate medical use whatsoever).

5. Cough syrup and over-the-counter medicines

Nearly all children’s over-the-counter medicines contain multiple toxic substances such as chemical sweeteners, preservatives and additives. Cough syrup, in particular, has been scientifically proven to be absolutely worthless in preventing coughs. Many “children’s” medicines are actually more toxic than their adult counterparts because they’re sweetened up and cosmetically enhanced with artificial colors made from petrochemicals.

Also, this fall, many of these over the counter medicines were pulled off the shelves because of their ineffectiveness.

6. Antidepressant drugs

Children as young as six months old are now being put on psychotropic drugs such as SSRIs (antidepressants). These drugs, we now know, cause suicidal thoughts and violent behavior, especially in young boys.

They imbalance brain chemistry and even alter the body’s metabolism of sugar, promoting diabetes and leading to rapid weight gain. These drugs are so dangerous that feeding them to children should be considered a crime.

Every single school shooting involving a child in the United States in the last 15 years has been linked to antidepressant drug use. Need I say more?

7. Soda

Aside from directly promoting diabetes and obesity, sodas also contain high amounts of phosphoric acid, a substance that dissolves bones and causes a loss of bone mineral density. This causes massive tooth decay as well as a shrinking jaw bone and overall skeletal fragility. Diet sodas are even worse, since they contain chemical sweeteners (NutraSweet) linked to neurological disorders and learning disabilities.

8. Synthetic vitamins

Many children’s vitamins are made with cheap, synthetic “vitamin” chemicals that actually harm people who take them. Plus, many are loaded up with artificial colors, sucrose and chemical sweeteners. Avoid cheap, store-bought children’s vitamins. I have several high quality vitamins available for purchase in my office.

9. Shampoo and bath products

Virtually all popular shampoo and bath products sold on the market contain cancer-causing chemicals. The ingredients read like a top-40 list of toxic chemicals. Virtually none of these chemicals have ever been tested or approved for use on humans.

I recommend using skin care products for your kids that are pure, safe, and don’t have synthetic and toxic chemicals in them. There are several companies that produce good products. Ask me about them if you like. In fact, if you’re wondering about the products under your kitchen or bathroom sink, bring them in! With kinesiology (that’s the muscle testing that I do) we can ask your body if a certain product is good for you or not.
So there’s a few things that in my opinion are harmful to the children of America that you NEVER hear about. Most parents have little to no concern whatsoever for any of the things, but they are going to go crazy over tiny amounts of lead in their Barbie toys and Elmo stuffed animals.

Now, do I think having lead in toys is a good thing? No, but with all of the mainstream media attention that “lead in toys” has gotten lately, I just wanted to put some things in perspective.

This is a great example of how most people will think anything that mainstream media tells them to think, while the “real issues” go unnoticed. It’s the classic American contradiction and if it all weren’t so downright tragic, it would almost be funny. Almost.

Have a great day and we’ll talk soon.

Keeping things in perspective,

Dr. Chris Frykman

Shakopee, MN.