The startling difference is, however, that the latter group report up to 30 days more of debilitating pain per year than the “maintenance group”. In other words, a little maintenance does not cost much more but pays off in spades.
For those with a physical job, it is even more important, as your body is one of the main tools of your trade. Taking care of your spinal health is vital and we would recommend for those in physical jobs to have a treatment once every 3 – 6 months to help maintain optimal health. As your spinal nerves deliver signals to every part of your body to enable it to function healthily, whatever job you do, even if it is sedentary, you can optimise your musculoskeletal and internal organ health by having healthy spinal function. Discover how chiropractic can help you by booking a maintenance chiropractic treatment- you can replace teeth, but your spine is irreplaceable. Those of you that have visited the clinic recently, will have noticed the Zinzino products in reception. Zinzino is a Norwegian Health supplement company whose products differ from most other supplements. Firstly, their supplementation and recommendations are TEST BASED (rather than guess based); secondly their omega supplements suspended in polyphenols (plant-based nutrition /pre-harvest olive oil) so that the omega 3 doesn’t OXIDISE rapidly like it would do in a capsule, thus the oil is absorbed by the gut rather than wasted. Kristine recently visited the factory in Oslo where most of the supplements are not only made and packaged but audited by representatives from all the countries their product are sold. (Not just the finished product but also the individual ingredients). Zinzino currently offer 4 tests; these are sent to an independent laboratory in Oslo. Balance test (omega 6:3 ratio) Vitamin D test HbA1c test (blood sugar profiling) Gut Health test
A high Omega 6 read means that your cell membranes (all - heart brain muscle skin etc) will become thicker and more inflexible. This in turn makes it harder for nutrients to enter, and for waste to exit. A high Omega 6 read means your body will struggle to “mop up” inflammation. Micro/macro inflammation in the body is one of the biggest contributing factors to cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders and endocrine disorders like Diabetes type 2.
HbA1c The HbA1c test puts your personal health status on the radar and helps you find out if your current lifestyle is sustainable, or if you need to act now for lasting health. It determines your long-term blood sugar levels in the context of your diet and overall habits and guide you towards a future of well-being. The test includes a lifestyle assessment with personalised recommendations on diet, activities and exercise. GUT HEALTH TEST (ONLY LAUNCHED LAST WEEK AFTER 7 YEARS OF RESEARCH)
Measures functional output – revealing how your gut bacteria and body work together to produce health-linked metabolites: Science-backed markers – analyses three key tryptophan-related metabolites linked to gut, immune, and metabolic health Advanced analysis – uses HPLC-UV-FLD technology for high-precision results Balance insights – shows how a protective metabolite from gut bacteria relates to other insightful markers Clear scoring – your results distilled into an easy-to-read Gut Health Index Personalised guidance – tailored diet and lifestyle recommendations, with a focus on fibre and polyphenols, based on your unique results Simple at-home self-test – dried blood spot (DBS) collection, no stool sample required For more information, watch this short video or chat to Kristine on your next visit! https://www.zinzinoplay.com/en/watch/86 By surrounding yourself with like-minded others who will support your project and encourage your change, you are more likely to succeed.
1. Tell a Friend
Sharing your goals with someone who truly cares for you is the easiest and cheapest option. But it’s vital that you chose the right person who will ask you about your goals, support you in achieving them, and celebrate with you when you do. Choosing someone who judges you or is highly competitive with you, could hamper your progress and potentially threaten your success. The ultimate accountability partner will support you and your goals with complete sincerity and commitment. 2. Go online In our ever-connected world, there are dozens of apps and websites at our fingertips which have been specifically designed to help with your accountability. These are great tools that can offer you reminders, track your progress or connect you with other people who are also trying to complete similar goals. Garmin, map my run, Strava, Runkeeper to name but a few! 3. Join a Group Joining or creating an accountability group can help you perform and achieve things that you may struggle to do on your own. 4. Seek professional help There has been a huge growth in both life and business coaching over the past few years. There is no real surprise as we struggle to find a work/life balance or take our business to the next level! A good coach will help you clarify your goals, set a reasonable and realistic timeframe, and help develop strategies for overcoming barriers to your success. As you will have probably invested financially, you are more likely to commit and stay focused in order to see a return on your investment. 5. Put pen to paper Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to stay focused is to write your goals down on paper. Post it notes on the fridge or entries in your daily planner or on your wall calendar, act as daily reminders. Which support system you chose to hold yourself accountable, is up to you. Perhaps a combination of some or all the above would be the optimum. Whatever you chose, remember it’s just as important to invest in that as much as you invest in your goals!
In October they will be launching a home test kit for GUT Health, which has been in the making for 7 years. Your tests are analysed in Vista Health Laboratories in Oslo, one of the most renowned leading medical analysis laboratories in the world.
Zinzino Balance Oils (also available for Vegans): The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is important because it influences how your body regulates inflammation, cardiovascular health, and cellular function. Both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats—your body can’t make them, so you must get them from food—but they play different roles. Here’s why the ratio matters: 1. Inflammation Balance
2. Historical vs. Modern Diets
3. Cell Membrane Health
4. Chronic Disease Risk
First published in Savour by Peter Gordon, published by Jacqui Small (2016). Poaching chicken is easy and as it involves no fat for cooking it is a relatively fast and super healthy way of cooking chicken. Usually, the chicken is covered in water, but in this recipe, we use Coconut milk to infuse its flavour! The low temperature and moist-heat cooking method cooks the chicken gently and prevents it from overcooking too quickly. The cooked chicken is moist and tender, and the coconut milk is great to use in our Pea risotto recipe on page 144 of our Inspired cookbook:
Method
Pre heat oven to 170c or 350f gas mark 4 Pour the coconut milk into a large saucepan, then rinse the can out with the same volume of water and add to the pan. Add the ginger, chilli, lime zest, fish sauce and bring to the boil. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Bring back up to the boil and Place the chicken breasts into the pan, skin side down then reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 8 minutes. Carefully turn over the chicken and cook for a further 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool in the liquid for 20 minutes Meanwhile make the croutons. Lay the sliced bread on a baking sheet and brush lightly with oil. Bake until they begin to crisp up and go golden brown. Turn-over and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a tray to cool. Before serving peel off the skin and slice the fillets at an angle into 1/4inch slices Using tongs, dip the spinach into the cooled coconut milk and arrange on a serving platter. Place the sliced melon on top, then the poached chicken, followed by the prosciutto and the croutons SAVE THE COCONUT MILK! With the clocks going forward this weekend and the blossom on the trees, one could believe that spring is on its way! After what feels like an eternity the prospect of getting outside is almost too much to bear. With the outlook for better weather, after a long cold and wet winter, I am sure we are all desperate to venture outside and enjoy the wonderful countryside. Many of you will be attacking the garden in preparation for summer or hitting the golf course in the hope of improving your game, or just making the most of being outside! But a word of caution as you emerge from hibernation, your body might need a little bit of warming, or should I say warning before the vigorous demands of the garden take their toll! It is quite normal to feel a few aches and pains in the lower back as your body adjusts to moving more vigorously again. Nonetheless, as many of you are aware, it is not only those who overdo the gardening that can suffer from back ache, those who sit at a desk all day also are at increased risk as their abdominal and back muscles become increasingly weaker. According to the 2014 Review, Prevention of Low Back Pain by Dr Maher et al. exercise can play a significant role in helping those with lower back pain. Dr Maher prescribes exercise as, "exercise strengthens the muscles that support and control the spine, meaning that your spine is better able to cope with the load that you put on it during daily life, secondly the tissues that make up the spine, ligaments, discs and bones need regular movement and activity to stay strong and healthy." Exercise, movement, and motion are our medicine; and should become our daily prescription for healthy living. Try these out over the coming weeks, to help ease you into summer!
Seated glutes stretch https://youtu.be/NlllJHvz9Pk Wall calf stretches https://youtu.be/XmSrDS36cO4 If any of these exercises causes pain, contact one of our team for further advice and treatment. Do not leave it to go away on its own, the earlier the treatment is carried out the better. You should exercise and keep fit so that you can enjoy your gardening and other leisure activities, rather than using your gardening as an exercise to keep fit. https://personalbest.neptune.practicehub.io/p/booking We hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Year break and are now looking forward to a positive start to 2025. It's that time of year again when gym memberships are at their peak, fridges are full of fruits and vegetables and all your friends are ‘dry’ for January! Tradition dictates that New Year’s resolutions are made and adhered to throughout the year. But what might seem light-hearted and positive, can end up doing more harm than good to our mental wellbeing. However, the ending of the year and the hope that the New Year brings, provides us with an opportunity to sit back, review and plan for the year ahead. These are just a few tips we have put together over the years to help you get the ball rolling and create a better version of you in 2025! Aim for less than 90 minutes a day of social media Mental fatigue can be induced by incessant scrolling. Research suggests that just 90 minutes a day (much less than the worldwide daily average) can have a negative impact on our mental wellbeing*. Get outside often! With long nights and gloomy days, it becomes increasingly harder to venture outside, particularly when the weather is bad! Our circadian clock (controls the body's 24-hour cycle and affects metabolism, sleep rhythms, and biological functions), is of central importance to sleep and wake cycles. According to David Bechtold, professor of physiology at the University of Manchester’s Centre for Biological Timing “Finding decent light exposure outside – despite the grey weather – is key.” Look after your Gut According to the Food and Drink Federation, just 9% of UK adults meet the recommended fibre intake. Keeping your gut microbiome healthy is key to good health, as it’s responsible for extracting about 10-15% of the energy from the food we eat. Your gut microbiome weighs about 2kg and is bigger than the average human brain. It’s a bustling community of trillions of bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses, containing at least 150 times more genes than the human genome. We are filled to the brim with microbes, which form microbiomes on our skin, in our mouths, lungs, eyes, and reproductive systems. These have co-evolved alongside us since the beginning of human history. Eat the rainbow Choose colourful fruits and vegetables and try to eat 30 different plants, nuts and seeds every week Eat foods rich in polyphenols These include dark chocolate and red wine Eat fermented foods such as kombucha, kefir and kimchi, as well as unpasteurised cheeses Eat more omega 3 New research suggests a relationship between gut microbes, omega 3 and brain health Avoid processed foods Cut back on salt and sugar, both of which seem to affect microbial diversity in the gut *Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the U.S Brian A. Primack, MD, PhD1,2,3, Ariel Shensa, MA1,2 et al 2018
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Christmas Holiday is finally upon us! For some, (mainly children), it is a time of great joy and cheer, for others, it is a time of great stress and anxiety. Financial and time pressures along with family tensions can cause great amounts of anxiety and tension over the festive period taking away all the magic and Christmas spirit!
Working so closely with many of you, we know that 2024 has been a challenging year for lots of different reasons. With a New Year just around the corner, we can look to draw a line under the past year and look to a positive start to 2025. Here are some useful tips to help you through the Christmas break: Have realistic expectations. If you don’t ‘get on’ with your relatives throughout the year, chances are, you will not ‘get on’ on Christmas Day! Be very flexible, take a more relaxed approach to the day, go with the flow, allow the day to take its own course, rather than the restrictive structures of a normal working day! Be prepared Be prepared for more people to show up than you invited. This might happen, this might not. It's better to have more than less. You can always send everyone home with leftovers. Learn to say no! I have had Christmas Days where I have been to three or four different places in one day, just to keep friends and family happy! Make time for rest breaks over the holiday period, where you see no one and do only what you want to do! Go easy on yourself! Avoid overindulging in alcohol – the reduced inhibitions could contribute to (or cause) an unnecessary argument, as well as leaving you feeling lousy the following day! Keep hydrated with lots of water, if you are out for dinner, sip water alongside your wine. Keep lots of healthy snacks at home to help you revive your spirits the morning after. Take time out for a long walk, nothing feels better than a brisk walk on a cold day!
Have you ever wished you could swim with the ease and grace of a dolphin? You may have been lucky enough to sail or swim alongside a dolphin, seen them perform at a waterpark, or perhaps grew up watching Flipper, but I am sure you can a picture a dolphin swimming having fun! What you might not know is that Dolphins have a great sense of fellowship and are extremely social. By nature, they are very curious and enjoy playing with objects and other dolphins following the waves created by boats. As well as being able to jump almost 5 meters out of the water, they frequently make bubbles and take the time to recreate * themselves in the ocean. Back on dry land, the impact of the Covid pandemic highlighted that inactivity is now seen as an ongoing pandemic due to the link between poor health and weakened immune system. A point reinforced by the Sport England Active Lives Adult Survey November 2020-21. Their report suggests that four in 10 British adults were so immobile they risked their long-term health From an early age we are taught that being physically active will go a long way toward good heart health. ‘Exercise’ is one of your most effective tools for strengthening the heart muscle and keeping body weight under control as well as reducing the risk of higher cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels that may lead to heart attack or stroke. But even with this knowledge, it is believed that sedentary living now kills more people than obesity, that many health experts predict could soon bankrupt the NHS. ‘Exercise’, according to Peter Walker, author of ‘The Miracle Pill – Why the sedentary world is getting it all wrong.’, is the issue. He believes that labelling physical activity as exercise turned off the majority and created a belief that it is a pursuit of a minority, whether that be elite athletes, or a routine squeezed into busy schedules of busy people! Since time began, daily physical exertion was an integral part of humanity, but in less than a half a century movement has almost been designed out of our lives with transformed workplaces, our reliance on the car, and a whole host of appliances that aid our domestic life So where do you start and what is the best activity to do? According to Steven Blair, one of Americas leading experts on the health benefits of exercise his answer is, “The one you’ll do and keep doing.” And the good news is, it is never too late to start exercising and benefitting from all the health benefits that physical activity brings. Even if you have had, or you think you have had a lifetime of inactivity, don’t worry about which exercise you need to do, or which class to attend, just think about moving more and moving well. Start by getting up from the sofa! According to numerous fitness experts, Strength training is vital. If you can perform strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups in one go, then you are on to a real winner, that’s why Squats or squatting tick all the boxes. When performed well, squats will target the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles, all of which are large muscle groups that help support and move your body weight. Superior muscular fitness will provide you with a greater capacity to burn calories, but make sure you perform the exercise with perfect form to avoid injuries and poor results. A good technique requires you to keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. As you bend your knees you lower your hips whilst trying to keep your knees over the ankles for the duration of the movement. Once you have practiced the squat and gained some competence in the movement, the next step, (literally!) is to lunge. Just like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body and can help improve your balance as well. Lunging is a great exercise because it mirrors many of our day-to-day movements, such as walking and running. It is also very similar to the position we assume when we get up from the floor and creates the same muscle-activation patterns used for ascending or descending stairs. Any good technique is crucial in order to avoid injury and gain the Take a big step forward with your right foot, keeping your spine in a neutral position. Bend your right knee to create a right angle, focusing on keeping weight on the toes of your left foot whilst dropping the knee of your left leg toward the floor. (Repeat on other leg) This article has highlighted that the aging body has the propensity to become weaker, less flexible/mobile which has the consequence of impacting our balance. Brazilian Physician Claudio Gil S Araújo developed a simple evaluation of balance, flexibility, and strength to prove this point. ** From a standing position, without support or leaning on anything, you slowly lower yourself to the floor, and then attempt to stand back up again. Starting with a score of 10. You deduct points for the following:
The Sitting-Rising Test, or SRT was performed by over 2,000 patients between the ages of 51 and 80. Araújo and his team found that individuals who scored less than 8 points on the test were twice as likely to die within the next six years. Those who scored 3 or fewer points were more than five times as likely to die within the same period compared with those who scored more than 8 points. Araújo concluded that each point increase in the SRT score correlated with a 21% decrease in mortality from all causes. The Sitting-Rising Test reinforces the point that muscular strength and flexibility are just as important aerobic health in delaying the impact of old age.
We are all mortal and our time on this earth is limited, but the quality of that time can be improved if we feel better and move better. Getting started is never easy, but one of the simplest things you can do is to try and lessen the amount of time spent sitting and walk a little bit more every day. The thought of entering a gym can be intimidating and overwhelming for many, but some of the best physical activities for your body don't require the gym or assume you are preparing for an Ironman. Remember the dolphins? They move just for the fun of it! Find something you enjoy whether it is on your own or in a group, indoors or outside. Don’t give yourself a hard time, find joy in moving and recreate just like our aquatic friends! *RECREATE verb (used with object), rec·re·at·ed, rec·re·at·ing. to refresh by means of relaxation and enjoyment, as restore physically or mentally. **Sitting–rising test: Sex- and age-reference scores derived from 6141 adults Claudio Gil S Araújo, Claudia Lucia B Castro, João Felipe C Franca, Denise SMS Araújo European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, vol. 27, 8: pp. 888-890. First Published May 1, 2019 Whilst scrolling on my phone I discovered this article; I hope you find it interesting reading. Your head weighs about 5kg. The neck supports the weight of the head which, according to the angle of the inclination, increases. The more we look down, the more our heads weigh. According to the cervical segment that takes weight and stress, the head weight fluctuates to less than 5kg, but if you lean forward, it weighs more and more. When bent at 60 degrees, it charges 22-27 kg on lower cervical vertebrae and down the chest. Indeed, the entire spine. What's more, the support plethora of soft tissues, fascia, muscles, ligaments and tendons become tense and tired, which increases tension on joints and discs. If not now, then down the track, this will have an impact on the neck as it gets stiffer and the likelihood of creating problems elsewhere. Take care of yourself using smartphones. We are totally absorbed by what is happening and we don't check our physical position and what this little device can do to us with time.
If you are experiencing neck or back pain and would like to see one of our Chiropractors for treatment and advice, call us on 01453 873 811 or book online https://personalbest.neptune.practicehub.io/p/booking A 1 hour consultation including treatment is £71.00. |
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