The recent and historic changes in the New Jersey Chiropractic Scope of Practice have ushered in a renewed sense of respect and enthusiasm amongst practitioners and patients throughout our state.  These changes have garnered the attention of not only the chiropractic nutritional leaders in New Jersey, but throughout the country as well.  It is widely believed that what will occur in our state will likely be used as a template for what will occur nutritionally for chiropractors nationwide. 

The importance of these times can, therefore, not be understated.  Healthcare is in crisis.  Costs are rising at an alarming rate and will affect both providers and our patients in the form of rising deductibles and co-payments.  Because of the reactive nature of chronic disease management, this trend will undoubtedly continue.  The costs and risks associated with drugs and surgery will always rise.

But with crisis comes opportunity.  Never before has there been a better opportunity to change and improve our healthcare delivery system.  Nutritional therapeutics are almost completely absent in the current reactive medical model.  Outcomes are poor at best, and most patients that develop chronic illnesses are expected to live with them as the medical establishment manages problems instead of trying to correct them.

One of the goals of the ANJC’s Nutrition Education Council is to bridge this gap.  But we need all of your help.  For those of you that are currently working in a multidisciplinary setting, let us know how you are utilizing nutritional therapeutics to co-manage your patients.  What physician specialties are you working with?  Can you get testimonials from these medical doctors and osteopathic physicians?  Can you gather objective data from the results of your co-treatment?  Any information you can provide will be helpful.  We are actively working to meet with medical, nursing, and hospital administrators to do workshops on nutrition and integration.  What are your ideas in this regard?  If the NEC can gather this data, we can expand our reach and improve healthcare and our place within it.  Can you help us to achieve this goal?

Never before in the history of New Jersey Chiropractic have we been better educated and prepared to utilize science-based nutritional approaches that are objective, responsible, and reproducible.  Never before has the need for them been greater for our patients and for those that are currently not our patients.  And never before have we been able to actually utilize them within our scope.  Now that we can, we must.

Why should we continue to settle for the same mediocre health-related quality of life that our parents and grandparents have statistically had to endure?  Why shouldn’t we work to naturally maintain our health as we age and work to improve the breadth of our knowledge so that we may do the same for our children and grandchildren? 

Esteemed colleagues, the time to act is now!  Let’s act together so that in ten, twenty, or even fifty years, we can look back at this time in the history of chiropractic in our state and remember it as a time when we took a proactive leap toward our medical counterparts, using nutrition as the bridge.  We can either allow ourselves to be shaped by history, or we can act now to shape our own history. 

Dr. Michael Edenzon has been practicing Chiropractic since 1998, has a Masters Degree in Human Nutrition, is a Diplomat of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition, and is an elected member of its Examination Committee.  He has been appointed by Dr. Zodkoy to be the Director of Inter-Professional Relations for the NEC.  He can be reached at Medenzon@sjhealthwellness.com

Published in the spring issue of New Jersey Chiropractor

www.anjc.info

2. Don’t try to change everything at once.  The ultimate goal is to eliminate all dairy and white sugar and from the diet.  At this point I would emphasize balance.  Set a goal that the child needs to eat 2 vegetables and 1 fruit before they get their next serving of milk or empty carbs.  He doesn’t get his “non-nutritive foods” until he’s met his requirements of healthy foods.
a. Reminder: a serving for a child is about the size of his hand. J Start small…he may not eat his whole serving in the beginning and he’ll be fighting every step of the way (maybe) but even if he attempts to eat a few bites of the vegetable, then allow him a small portion of whatever “white” food he’s requesting (not the size of his normal portion).
b. Gradually reduce the amount of milk he’s allowed to have until he’s getting zero and be sure to incorporate other proteins into his diet.  He needs some form of protein with every meal.

3. Keep in mind there will be certain foods that he just doesn’t like. 

4. Keep reinforcing why we need to eat fruits/veggies, get enough protein, etc.  You want food to be about refueling and not simply about pleasure.  We have way too many “emotional eaters” in this country.

5. Be sure he’s drinking only water…no fruit juice.

 Susan C.

How to Treat Your Health Problem with Nutrition is a workshop that teaches you about nutritional focus and where to begin!

Reserve your seat TODAY! Space is limited to 15 people. Call South Jersey Health and Wellness Center at 856.761.8100!

The workshop is FREE and open to the public! Food will be provided.

To reserve your seat call South Jersey Health and Wellness Center today at 856.761.8100

This workshop is FREE and open to the public. Space is Limited to 15 people!

Food will be provided.

Most patients with rhinosinusitis, usually called a sinus infection, are prescribed antibiotics by their doctors even though their problems are caused by a virus, not bacteria. Antibiotics do nothing to combat virus infections.

According to a new study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology, in the 4 years from 1999 to 2002, there were 14.28 million doctor visits for chronic rhinosinusitis and 3.12 million visits for acute rhinosinusitis. Chronic rhinosinusitis last three months or longer, while acute rhinosinusitis lasts for a month or less.

Over 80 percent of acute infections were treated with antibiotics, the study found, while 70 percent of chronic infections were prescribed antibiotics. This represents a fifth of all adults and one-tenth of all children who are prescribed antibiotics each year.

The findings are worrisome because this is yet another example of the overuse of antibiotics leading to more dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria.

“We don’t want to be using up our antibiotics on these people,” said Dr. Don Leopold, chair of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology, in a news report on the findings. Dr. Leopold, who worked on the sinus study, said there are no approved drugs to treat sinus infections and no recommended course of treatment.

Looking To The Past For Safer Treatments

As well as breeding drug-resistant strains of bacteria, antibiotics can also have serious, even life-threatening, side effects.

For most sinus infections, Dr. Leopold suggested saline flushing as an alternate treatment. Saline flushes can be bought over-the-counter and are less expensive then prescribed drugs.

“It’s a very old remedy, but something I think we physicians have forgotten,” Dr. Lepold said

Other remedies for sinus problems have also proved safe and effective for many patients, including Chiropractic adjustments, Acupuncture treatments and nasal sprays containing herbal compounds such as xylitol.