9 minute read
Health And Fitness
Why Lean Protein?
by Nick Thomas, owner of Prime Performance Training, and Certified Sports Nutritionist
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When it comes to meat, most of us truly love chicken thighs and wings, or maybe pork is your weakness. There is nothing quite like a grilled pork chop or some slowsmoked barbeque ribs, and we won’t even start on the amazingness of bacon. Beef is a popular choice among proteins for a lot of us as well, and nothing quite tops a good prime rib or ribeye steak. All of this tastes amazing, HOWEVER, unfortunately, that does not mean they are the protein choices which will help shed fat or fuel the body to function at a peak fit ness level. These meats work well as a treat every now and again; but if consumed con sistently, will slow you down and prevent you from reach ing your health goals. Protein is absolutely essen tial to good health. The word itself actually comes from the Greek word proteos which means primary or first place. Protein is a macronutrient that is essential for build ing muscle mass. It is commonly found in animal products, though it is also present in other sources, such as nuts and legumes. The body functions best with lean pro teins. Turkey, chicken (white meat), and fish like salmon, halibut, and yellowfin tuna are excellent choices. Eggs, whole or just whites, also fall in this category along with very lean beef, such as filet mignon, both depending on your goals. Turkey and chicken are posi tive choices because the fat content is low as opposed to dark meat. Lean white meat has a fat content of 10 per cent or lower, and in some cases its even just 5 percent. This provides the nutrients needed by the body for en ergy and function without the extra unwanted fat for the body to store. Protein is carried throughout the body with a glucose trans port system. Protein cannot work alone once digested through the small intestine into the body. The amino ac ids the body needs from protein have to have this vehicle to reach their destination in order for the body to gain the nutrients which are used for multiple functions within the body. Protein plays a vital roll in so many areas of the body. There are several functions which require protein, to be at prime performance. The body needs protein for growth and main tenance of tissues which can vary based on current health and activity level. Enzymes are proteins that allow key chemical reactions to take place within the body, such as energy production, digestion, blood clotting, and muscle contraction. The lack or im proper function of these particular enzymes can even result in disease. Various amino acid chains form protein pep tides which make up several of the body’s hormones and transmit information be tween your cells, tissues, and organs. There is even a class of proteins known as fibrous proteins which provide vari ous parts of your body with structure, strength, and elas ticity. Although it may sound strange, proteins actually af fect the fluid in the body. They act as a buffer system helping the body maintain proper pH values, specifi cally of the blood. Proteins in the blood stream actually maintain the fluid balance be tween the blood and the sur
rounding tissues. If enough protein is not consumed, the levels of albumin and glob ulin eventually decrease, which means the proteins cannot keep blood in the ves sels and the fluid forced into the spaces between the cells. If this continues to build up in the spaces between the cells, swelling and edema occurs, particularly in the stomach region. Protein malnutrition to this level is rare but needs to be discussed. Finally, some proteins trans port nutrients through the entire body and store them for later use when it’s required. Another key roll proteins play is forming antibodies to protect the body from foreign invaders, such as diseasecausing bacteria and viruses -- something which we all need to keep in mind in today’s world. Each of us is different; be cause of that, it is important to be well informed but also to make protein choices in your regular diet which best fit YOUR body, considering current goals, activity level, and any other underlying factors such as medications, etc. As always, I believe personalized nutrition is important so that decisions are not made with good knowledge but ultimately devastating effects due to lack of full understanding of your individual needs.
Cover Story Lang Chiropractic And Calmare Scrambler Therapy: Making Pain-Free A Reality
by Ali Elizabeth Turner
continued from page 1
with breakthroughs, Dr. Lang went through that excruciatingly painful experience that some times strikes the soul of a health care provider -- not being able to help someone find comfort and relief from intrac table pain. David had a patient who had had a simple, clean knee ar throscopic procedure that was performed per fectly, and she ended up with what is called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome all over her body. First it was in the knee that had surgery, then her opposite knee, and then it spread for reasons that no one un derstands. Please understand, this is a real, red, swollen, painfully ten der condition that can even be discerned by the naked eye, but no one knows why it develops in the brain and spreads to places that have nev er been traumatized.
David told me, “CRPS sufferers are in so much pain that they can’t handle getting any type of adjustment.” His desper ate patient then discovered a unique treatment developed in Italy called Calmare, and went to Dr. Michael Cooney in New Jersey to get several treatments that brought her great levels of relief. It uses what is known as scrambler therapy. Scrambler therapy sends a series of low-level amp signals to the brain that disrupts neuropathic pain and sends a signal that it is ok for the brain to stop hurting. Here is what the Calmare people have to say (in laymen’s terms) about the science behind the treatment protocols. The Calmare® device uses a biophysical rather than a biochem ical approach. A 'nopain' message is trans mitted to the nerve via disposable surface electrodes applied to the skin in the region of the patient's pain. The perception of pain is
cancelled when the nopain message replaces that of pain, by us ing the same pathway through the surface electrodes in a noninvasive way. Regard less of pain intensity, a patient's pain can be completely removed for immediate relief. Maximum benefit is achieved through fol low-up treatments. The patient may be able to go for extended peri ods of time between subsequent treatments while experiencing sig nificant pain control and relief. The period of time between treat ments depends on the underlying cause and severity of the pain in addition to other fac tors.
Then Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome struck closer to home, affect ing David’s father’s foot after both a success ful back surgery along with the death of a fam ily member. The CRPS developed only a few weeks after the surgery. The great re sults from the Calmare therapy that David’s pa tient had received gave the David’s father en couragement to go to Memphis to get treat ment. “My dad’s foot no longer looked like a kiel basa sausage,” he said, and what amazed him was how quickly it hap pened. David knew that
he needed to do what ever it took to bring Calmare to Alabama, and has just finished the training and his trials with sufferers of CRPS here in North Alabama. The machine is up and working, he and his staff have been trained, and he is pleased to an nounce that Calmare Scrambler Therapy will
be available at the clinic in about a month.
Who can benefit from Calmare Therapy? Those who contend with:
• Chemotherapyinduced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) • Chronic Cancer Pain
• Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS) • Sciatic and Lumbar Pain
• Phantom Limb Syn drome
• Postherpetic Neural gia (PHN) • Post-surgical Neuro pathic Pain • Brachial Plexus Neuropathy • Low Back Pain (LBP) • Chronic Neuropath ic Pain
Calmare Scrambler Therapy makes use of dermatomes, which are sensory zones in the skin that corre spond to places in the spine. Dermatomes trace along a specific route on the body that corresponds to a spe cific nerve route out of the spine.”We use der matomes as a road map to see how close we can get to the pain,” said Dr. Lang. To treat his dad, they placed the sensors above his knee, even though the pain was in the foot. One of David’s other success stories from his patient trials involves a man who had suffered with neuropathy in his feet and hands. He had not been able to feel his feet at all for 10 years, and receiving treatment caused him to be able to feel the wind of the car’s air conditioner on his feet. The numbness in his foot went down by 75%, and the numb ness in his toes was completely eliminated. In addition, the numb ness in his fingers was reduced 100%, and he was able to use tools for the first time in years. “People don’t realize what a difference being able to do simple things makes,” said David. He also made it really clear that people are different, and it’s impossible to predict how many treat ments may be needed to clear up pain, “But you’ll know after the first treat ment if Calmare therapy is going to help you.” Calmare Therapy can help things as varied as phantom pain syndrome after an amputation to helping with pain after a back surgery. Read the following: I am a 60-year-old guidance counselor for a local high school. My right ankle has no car tilage and is just bone on bone. I will be hav ing an ankle replacement in April. In the in terim I wanted to walk more to lose weight be fore the surgery. I am more of aware of the pain in my right knee, which was overshad owed by the pain in my right ankle. I had a knee scraping to re move broken cartilage a few years ago. I am not feeling any pain whatsoever in my ankle. I noticed a reduction of pain after the first treatment in my right knee. I am more mobile now, and I don’t have to think and plan the way I am going to walk in a particular area and compensate for it to save steps. It’s uplifting. I was de pressed before. This device has helped me a lot. This should be available to everyone in pain. It’s a shame that it’s not.
One of the most prom ising results of Calmare Scrambler Therapy is that it is entirely pos sible for some patients to come off of opioids,
which have become a huge problem in our nation. While that is not guaranteed, it is not uncommon. If you are suffering from any of the conditions we have discussed in this article, call Dr. David Lang’s office today to make an appointment to see if Calmare Therapy is right for you.
