according to government statistics, the top three causes of death among americans is cancer. heart disease. and prescription medication overdose. i lost a close. dear friend to the same unnecessary demise that took the life of Whitney Houston—combining chemicals in the body. how easy is it to forget that our bodies are giant experimental chemistry sets? every day we ingest and consume foods that help us grow stronger or have the potential to kill us. Human ailment is often unintentionally self-induced. No one would ordinarily subject themselves to activities or foods that would harm them, but we arc all guilty of "malpractice." By omitting or committing certain foods in our diet, we can improve or undermine our state of wcllncss. The same is tnic for exercise. Exercise does not have to be limited to or defined as activity in a commercial gym. Exercise simply means to move every day. Movement is life. Absence of movement is death. Circulation and elimination of body toxins requires movement. Contracting muscles and articulating joints ensures and maintains function. We should never lose sight of the body's ability to process foods that we ingest. For thousands of years, man lias experimented with foods that harm and foods that heal. Just imagine how many "Mikcys" died in the interest of discovering what foods won't kill us. Today, we have stores like Costco and Walmart that supply us with aisles of food on thousands of shelves that would amaze our forefathers. However, just because a food won't kill us docs not imply that it is actually beneficial to our health. Americans are overfed and undernourished, consuming millions of useless calorics each day. Alcohol and cigarettes arc marketed to consumers as a nonnal part of the American lifestyle. What is the price of overeating, not exercising, and living with chronic stress? When our chemistry set (our body) is taxed unmercifully to detoxify and clean up our intestinal trash, our health suffers. When our nervous system is compromised by mechanical aberrations, we experience a variety of abnonnal mechanical pain symptoms. Our ancestors never thought about naturally sustained health. There were no dnigs and everything was natural. Most people had no idea about nutritional requirements. Instead, they were looking for food that didn't taste horrible and would not kill them. Today, we depend on the marketers to sell us food that won't kill us, but most importantly, that also tastes good. Go to any emergency room in the country and you will find overdosed and dying men and women. You will sec the results of alcohol- and drug-induced rage and the victims of unnecessary car wrecks. There will be people having heart attacks due to obesity and those with diabetic-related emergencies. Smoking, emphysema, lung cancer, and COPD arc all interrelated. In fact, it has been estimated that 90% of the people in ERs even weekend arc there because of self-inflicted illness. These are conditions that could be avoided with aggressive health education. Chiropractors have the knowledge and philosophical training to educate, treat, and counsel men and women about living healthy. As a profession, we are positioned to change the course of health care in the US. To do so means to reclaim our role as natural advocates of the healthy lifestyle. Besides preaching it. we must also live it ourselves. Patients have little respect for doctors who don't take their own advice. Tell patients the truth about the dangers of "food abuse." Food is medicine. Don't ever forget that simple fact. Most dnigs arc derived from plants. Herbal medicine is medicine, but all natural. This is our specialty. If chiropractors don't educate the masses, then who will? Death by lifestyle is just that. The mechanical, chemical, and psychogenic irritation to our nervous system can be devastating and far-rcaching over a lifetime. We can't control our genetic or inherited shortfalls, but we can chose to participate in a proactive lifestyle of health}' activities that include physical fitness and eating for fuel and not just for fun. When Roberta Flack sang. "Killing Me Softly." she really meant killing me slowly. Doctor. I challenge you to rcignitc your passion as a doctor of chiropractic and restore your faith, confidence, and belief in a natural healthcare system. Stand tall and proudly say. "I am a specialist in natural living and my philosophy is exhibited in my actions, words, and deeds." Adjust your patients in need and assist them through a lifetime of intentional wcllncss. Make it your goal to never lose a patient to "death by lifestyle." Dr. John Boren opened the first of 5 clinics in and around Houston. He joined a team of NASA physiologists in the early 80's .which led to his designing and patenting over 30 medical devices. Dr. Boren is internationally known for his pioneering Non-surgical Spimil Decompression in tlic late 1980 "s under his brand name Lordcx R. Borcii has recently launched a new Chiropraclic practice model under the name Energee R Spine Care and Wcllness Centers. See WAUv.EncrgccSpincCare.com or watch free Webinar i? wAvw.LoYcPracticeAgain.com
