Archive for September, 2008

12 Foods You Don’t Have To Buy “Organic”

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Organic foods are rising in popularity. Today I wanted to share with you some foods you can eat that don’t have to be organic, and some foods that you should consider buying the organic variety if you can afford them or if they are available in your area.

First of all, do you know what growing organic means? Well, let me tell you!

Organic fruits and vegetables are by definition grown without the use of pesticides. It’s becoming a known fact that “organically grown” foods are healthier than conventionally grown foods.

However, some people don’t have easy access to, or can’t afford, organically grown foods on a regular basis, and that’s why I wanted to share this with you.

Here are some foods that you can purchase at your local grocery store, that aren’t organically grown, but have very low levels of pesticide use when farming.

The Environmental Working Group (EWA) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for policies that protect global and individual health. This summer they published the Shoppers’ Guide to Pesticides in Produce. The date is based on the results of nearly 43,000 pesticide tests.

Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories in the Guide to Pesticides, the following 12 foods had the lowest amount of pesticide load when conventionally grown. Because of this, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume. Here they are:

Broccoli
Eggplant
Cabbage
Banana
Kiwi
Asparagus
Sweet peas (frozen)
Mango
Pineapple
Sweet corn (frozen)
Avocado
Onion

Now, on the flip side of this coin, here are the 12 fruits and vegetables that were tested to have the HIGHEST amount of pesticide load. These are the foods you should consider to buy organic FIRST.

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes

The best thing is to buy all local, organically grown produce, I just wanted to provide these lists for those trying to budget for certain foods.

If you’d like more information, just check out these resources:

DrWeil.com July 30, 2008
FoodNews.org Printable Shopper’s Guide

Helping you live YOUR Vibrant Potential,

Dr. Chris Frykman

The Healthiest Fruit Juices

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

There’s a lot of talk these days about “antioxidants,” especially when it comes to juices and beverages.

Have you seen different products being marketed as “super antioxidants?”  Want to know which beverages have the “best” antioxidant power?

Here’s the thing…claims of “superior antioxidant activity” can be misleading because testing is usually done on a “limited spectrum” of antioxidant activities.

So researchers from UCLA did some hard core testing to figure out which juices have the best antioxidant power.  They used 4 tests to determine antioxidant potency, which provides us with a much better analysis of the juices.

Here are the top 10 juices in terms of their antioxidant potency:

1. Pomegranate juice
2. Red wine
3. Concord grape juice
4. Blueberry juice
5. Black cherry juice
6. Açaí juice
7. Cranberry juice
8. Orange juice
9. Tea (camellia sinensus  - like white tea, green tea, and oolong tea)
10. Apple juice

Now, even though these juices provide a lot of antioxidant power, you still want to eat whole fruit more often than just driking the juice because the juice itself has so much sugar in it (fructose).  This sugar IS way better than high fructose corn syrup that you find in pop and sweetened juice but it still can have a negative effect on the body if taken in mass quantities.

When you eat whole fruit, the fiber in the fruit will control the release of the fructose sugar into your bloodstream, so it’s easier on your body.

But if you’re looking for a healthy juice for yourself or your kids, this list will help you pick out the best.

Helping you live YOUR Vibrant Potential,

Dr. Chris Frykman

Sources:

Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 2008; 56(4): 1415-1422
CBS News July 5, 2008

Drugs, Society and Children

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

From birth until death we are on medication. If we want to have a child, we take a drug. If we want to prevent conception we take a drug. If we do have a child and there is pain during labor, there is a drug for that too.

When a child, a perfect creation, is born, we automatically stick needles in their arm and pump them full of harmful vaccines because we’ve been programmed believe that the strength and power given to each individual at birth isn’t good enough or strong enough.

When the child goes to school, if s/he doesn’t pay attention or conform to policy, there is RITALIN, a class II narcotic in the same drug classification as COCAINE. If your child is female, we can give a drug for menstrual cramps. If your son or daughter is depressed, there is PROZAC for that. If he or she has any ache or pain, then there is a drug for that too.

High blood pressure? High cholesterol? A change to a healthier lifestyle can bring them down, but why bother when you can take the easy road and swallow some more drugs? Chronic headaches? Depression? Fatigue? Always another pill we can take.

Dad taking a dozen pills for the tension of the day, and mom taking assorted pills to lose weight, or fall asleep, or depression. And filling the kids full of antibiotics and cold relievers whenever they get a common cold or flu, both of which the body heals just fine on its own.

Before you ingest your next pill in your medicine cabinet, take a look at your child who is standing there watching you. What messages are we imparting to our children; that drugs are a normal part of our everyday lives? Can we expect our children to say NO to drugs, when we ourselves have a medicine cabinet full of them? Can we expect them to say NO when all they have ever been taught since birth was when there is something wrong, take a pill?

So is it any wonder when kids reach high school or college and are dealing with the stresses of peer pressure and social acceptance that they turn to drugs like alcohol, marijuana, Ritalin, and Ecstasy to feel better?

Who taught them that problems were solved in bottles? Who taught them throughout their entire life that there is more power in potions and pills created by man than the strength, intelligence, and healing power of God, the universe, the source, or whatever else you choose to call it, which resides in all of us?

Isn’t it HYPOCRITICAL to have “Just Say No To Drugs” campaigns when all kids have ever been taught since birth is when there is a problem to TAKE DRUGS?

What if children were taught a different model of healthcare? What if we taught our children a different model? A model that teaches our kids about how powerful their body and minds are, and that problems can be solved naturally. Would our children act and think differently if we taught them that the power to solve their health and emotional problems resided within themselves?

“Dr. Chris is so friendly and is great at explaining what’s going on inside the body. Through my treatments and his GREAT workshops he does, I’ve learned so much about my body. I have a new appreciation for how it all works together. It’s not just about the one pain or injury you may have… it’s how your whole body works together and how to get it to optimal condition. Also, at Vibrant Potential, health doesn’t just mean physical health. Dr. Chris addresses mental and emotional health as well and
explains how they are all interconnected.

I recommend Vibrant Potential and Dr. Chris to all my family and friends because it’s ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! It’s not just about chiropractic. It’s about a lifestyle!

Maria Lynn Crespo
Bloomington, MN

What if we taught our children that the nervous system controls all functions (including healing) in the human body, and the chiropractic adjustment keeps the nervous system healthy and strong? What if we taught our children that chiropractic care increases immunity by 200%? What if we taught our children that chiropractic care is NOT just for back and neck pain, but rather for optimizing health?

What if we taught children to take responsibility for their health and well being and not expect bottle after bottle of pills to be the answer? What would their self-esteem and confidence be like if they were empowered to believe and trust in themselves? What would you be like? What would our world be like?

Remember, over 2,000,000 people die or are seriously injured from the side effects of medication and over 400,000 are killed by medical and drug error each year. Please don’t let that be you, your family, or more importantly your children.

Listen, I’m not some crazy fringe chiropractor telling you never to use drugs or something. Drugs are very powerful tools when used IN THE RIGHT TIME AND PLACE. What I’m saying is anyone who understands health understands that you will not become healthier by taking prescription medication. Improving your health happens by making lifestyle changes and using products and services that benefit overall health and wellness.

So if it’s been awhile since your last adjustment, come on in for a tune up to reduce the stress and tension in your body. And don’t forget to get your children adjusted too. The benefits for kids getting chiropractic are enormous.

Follow this link if you’d like to see me adjusting my daughter, Emma, when she was one hour old.

Helping you live YOUR Vibrant Potential,

Dr. Chris Frykman