Here's another blog on exercise, my favorite topic as an Oak Lawn Chiropractor other than talking about the benefits of chiropractic treatment. And, if you've read my other blogs on exercise, you know I'm a big believe in "move it or lose it." But, if you've read the entire content of most of my blogs, you also know that I believe that exercise is just part of a healthy lifestyle. An essential part, to be sure, but eating nutritious meals, drinking plenty of water, and visiting your chiropractor (that last one may be slightly biased), along with giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, are crucial not only for maintaining good health, but in keeping body weight in check. That's why I wasn't surprised by the latest government data that indicated that more Americans are exercising, but rates of obesity and smoking have not changed.

Health experts, such as chiropractors, and the U.S. government all recommend getting daily exercise — about an hour a day of moderate exercise for most adults — to keep weight off and prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Plus, we chiropractors are well aware that keeping weight off not only helps to prevent the diseases just mentioned, but it also helps to slow down, and often prevent, arthritis and stress injuries of the musculoskeletal system caused by excess weight.

But, excess weight is not only caused by, and sustained through, lack of exercise. Here are some more "fun facts" from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics:

• The prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over has increased from 19.4 percent in 1997 to 28 percent in 2009.
• In 2009, 9 percent of adults 18 and over had diabetes, up from 8.2 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 1997.
• 20.6 percent of adults smoked, about the same as in 2008.
• Nearly 23 percent of adults had at least one day of binge drinking in 2009, defined as having five or more drinks in a day.
• Most Americans believe they are healthy. More than 66 percent said they had excellent or very good health, down from 68.5 percent in 2008. 2.4 percent said they had poor health.
• Just over 4 percent of all Americans said they had an asthma attack in the past year

There are no shortcuts and no way to get around it: Good health and vibrant wellness is created and maintained through an overall healthy lifestyle.

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.

As a chiropractor in Oak Lawn, IL, I often hear the disappointment in my patients' voices when they find that their insurance plan doesn't cover the full spectrum of chiropractic care. And, of course, anyone who has experienced the benefits of not only crisis chiropractic treatment and therapies, but holistic preventative chiropractic care as well, knows that insurance companies that don't cover chiropractic treatment as a wellness approach are not only ill-advised, but "shooting themselves in the foot" (a condition that chiropractic doesn't treat!) because chiropractic care can actually reduce health care costs! Well, now it appears that things just might be changing so that no health insurance provider can discriminate against an insured's desire to have chiropractic treatment, and have it covered, by their insurance! The National Association of Chiropractic Attorneys (NACA) just announced that it has issued a proclamation recognizing “the historic and profoundly positive legal ramifications for the chiropractic profession and the patient community it serves in Section 2706, ‘Non-Discrimination in Health Care,’ recently enacted as part of the federal ‘Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.’”

How does that relate to your receiving insured chiropractic care? The provider non-discrimination provision says that “A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider’s license or certification under applicable State law.”

What does that mean for you? Well, once in full effect, health insurance companies will no longer be able to deny chiropractic patients their right to receive coverage for their acupuncture treatment, their nutritional therapies or the many other alternative services many chiropractors provide, but which insurers routinely reject.

The provision has long been championed by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and members of the Chiropractic Summit. It was achieved primarily due to collaboration with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and help from other key players such as Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). Although he did not support the final bill overall, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) did lend his support for the advancement of the non-discrimination provision. The ACA will continue to fight for proper implementation during the regulatory process.

NACA Vice President, Mike Schroeder, said: “It is important to recognize this provision as a historic first for the chiropractic profession. We now have a federal law applicable to ERISA plans that makes it against the law for insurance companies to discriminate against doctors of chiropractic and other providers relative to their participation and coverage of health plans. And, he added that “While there is still much work to be done in the regulatory process, we are encouraged by the fact that Congress has finally acted to end provider discrimination based on one’s license.”

This is great news for you, as my patient, and for me, as your Oak Lawn chiropractor. And, it's great news for chiropractors and their many patients everywhere!

As your Oak Lawn Chiropractor, I have a confession to make: I'm a health nut, plain and simple. I believe that the human body is an amazing organic instrument that, just like a musical instrument, requires care and attention in order for it to "play" the way it was designed to. Some health practices are obvious: Eat nutritious meals, avoid processed foods and too much salt and sugar, stay hydrated, get plenty of exercise, and last but not least, see your chiropractor on a regular basis! However, other health practices may not be quite so apparent, such as keep your refrigerator clean. Yep, that's right! A refrigerator that contains old food or food spills, is a health hazard with major health consequences. How unhealthy? There is a detailed, and sometimes amusing, account of just how unhealthy "bad refrigeration" can be in an article by Eric Spitznagel in Bloomberg Businessweek, which I highly recommend your reading if you have a chance. But, in the meantime, I would like to pass along a few things that you should be aware of. 

Though office refrigerators were the focus of the article and studies, it's equally important, of course, for each of us to ask ourself how often we clean out our home refrigerator. According to a study conducted by the ADA and ConAgra Foods, 44 percent of office refrigerators are cleaned once a month and 22 percent are cleaned only once or twice a year. The article suggested that the next time someone was looking for a relatively bacteria-free place to store their lunch, they should consider that the bathrooms in most offices are probably cleaner than the fridge. (At least they are cleaned more often!) According to the Agriculture Dept., the foods most likely to turn unhealthiest the quickest are casseroles, cold cuts, poultry, yogurt, and sour cream. Though such food items are healthy "in the beginning," can go from bad to lethal. Last year at an AT&T Center in San Jose, California, a co-worker who was trying to be helpful, cracked open the office fridge to clean it and noxious fumes sent seven of her co-workers to the hospital and forced authorities to evacuate the building while men in hazmat suits spread down the fridge!

So, add "clean the refrigerator" to your health "to do" list. Even food that's good for you when it's fresh, can be bad for your health given enough time!