_  “God heals and the doctor takes the fee.”

Benjamin Franklin

When was the last time you were sick? What were your symptoms? Runny nose, cough, sneezing, fever, cold sweats, vomiting, diarrhea? Unpleasant as those symptoms are, why do we have those symptoms?

If you are as smart as I think you are, then you probably responded with something like “so your body can get rid of what is causing the sickness.” Congratulations! You win a prize! Most medications we take are for our symptoms to make us feel better while the body heals. If you have a bacterial or viral infection, your body is going to fight it the best you can. Make sure your body has all the right tools to help it fight the sickness. Here are a few suggestions.

Zinc – A Conchrane review was conducted in Feb 2011 concluded: Zinc administered within 24 hours of onset of symptoms reduces the duration and severity of the common cold in healthy people. Give me some zinc!

Wash your hands- the average person touches their face three to five times every waking minute. So that means on the high side, subtracting eight hours for sleep, the average person is touching their face a whopping four thousand, eight hundred times a day! Think about it…how many times have you touched your face today? What did you touch prior to that? Money? A doorknob? Toilet lid? Lightswitch? A pen? Your keys? Someone else? You get the picture – germs get transmitted easily through your touch.

Get Adjusted! – There has been increase in evidence recently showing the positive effects of an adjustment on the immune system. Consider it an immune system booster! For a summary of the research I found this blog useful http://freespinalexam.com/blog/tag/immune-system/ In a Consumer Reports survey last year, chiropractic was the second most effective for treatments for cold, flu, bronchitis, and sinusitis with those who used it saying 47% saying it "helped a lot"!

_  To properly debate health care vs. sick care we need to define health. What is health to you?

The World Health Organization gives a splendid definition.

 "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

America spends more per person (roughly $7,500) on health care than any other country in the world, for a total of 2.26 trillion dollars. That means we should be the healthiest country in the world, right? Not even close. We rank 42nd in the world in life expectancy. The leading causes of death in America are heart disease, cancer, lower respiratory , stroke, and diabetes. We are dying younger than 41 other countries that spend less on health care than us because we are not preventing the disease, but treating the symptoms.

_  I’m not against taking medications recommended by your primary care physician. I’m against taking medications from your doctor with no plans to change your life to become healthier. On the website of Lipitor (one of the leading prescription drugs in America) it says:

Atorvastatin (Lipitor) is used along with diet, exercise, and weight-loss to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke and to decrease the chance that heart surgery will be needed in people who have heart disease or who are at risk of developing heart disease.

Taking a medication to cover up the symptoms but not fix the CAUSE of the problem is part of the health care problem in America today. We are not healthy because we are looking for a quick fix. Diet, exercise, and weight loss are not the quick easy road to health. It is a lot easier to take a pill, but that does not fix the real problem. Lifestyle changes have to be made.

Chiropractic has a similar philosophy. We look to correct the CAUSE of the problem, not to cover up the pain with medication. Once the CAUSE is corrected, there is no problem!

Read the definition of health above again. Are you healthy? What do you need to do to become healthy?

I had the opportunity to return to Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida over the weekend for homecoming and to attend classes for continuing education. So far it has been a great experience. They have built a new building on campus which is magnificent. This was the best picture I could find online, but it looks better than a drawing. I was able to catch up with my old professors and classmates as well. But the best conversation I had over the weekend was with a chiropractor from New York.

His table was the only one with an empty seat at lunch so I took it. I didn't even get his name. He was an older man, but looked healthy and young at heart. I asked if he was still practicing and he said he had just retired last year after 60 years in practice. 60 years! Either he was really exaggerating or he was in his eighties. Then he gave me some unsolicited advice.

"Don't believe chiropractic works, Know it."

He went on advise me not to get caught up in trying to be a medical doctor and be what we aren't. We shouldn't want to be anything but chiropractors. We offer a better alternative than drugs and covering up symptoms. Why would we want to offer a solution that won't fix the problem when we have the ability to do so?

I've had conversations with other family and friends that say they do or do not believe in chiropractic. I can choose to not believe in gravity, but if I jump off my roof I'm not going to fly. Believe it or not, it works!

When I thought of being in practice for 60 years I thought of all the miracles this old time chiropractor in New York must have seen. We see patients walk in with headaches that walk out with out one. We see chronic shoulder pain of 20 years that leaves after a few treatments. We see low back pain melt away right after the adjustment. He knows chiropractic works. I know chiropractic works. Do you know?