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Happy Monday Warriors!
It’s 2020!! I can’t believe it! I was laughing with a patient this past week about not thinking we would make it to 2020 haha. But, we definitely have arrived, and in full swing!
Thanks for all who came a couple weeks ago to our mobility workshop! I hope you learned some tips to keep your body moving. If you are sad you missed it, we WILL be holding another next month so make sure you let us know!
This year is gong to be a big year for my practice I can feel it. I’m continuing to write my book, and in fact alot of this blog is coming directly from that. I’m also wanting to start a podcast very soon. If someone is very familiar with running podcasts or would love to donate time, ect. let me know! There’s so many things I’d like to do, but time!!! Right? Finding that balance.
Also! If you are a patient of mine, I have created a private account on MeWe. Its a social media platform similar to Facebook. I wanted to create a community for my patients to talk about various health topics, and not be censored like facebook does. I also wanted a place for you guys to share maybe about things that you do and offer! A real community! It can feel isolated especially for some of my families that don’t vaccinate, to find like minded communities. So, if you don’t have an account GET ONE! Add me Dr Rachel Hamel, then I will add you to the group!
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Alright enough house keeping. BUT ONE MORE.. If you are a patient and have not written a google review, would you mind taking a couple moments? They really really help my practice and inspire others!
Thank you!
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The Brain!
Brain Fortitude. The ability to utilize the brain to shut down unwanted thoughts and actions.
What do you mean doc?
Well, we know that the Brain controls every function in our body. But what if it fails to turn on or shut off certain systems?
What is happening here.? Usually, there is some malfunction in the frontal lobe in our brain. The frontal lobe is the executive functioning, reasoning, rationale, impulse control, allows us to start and finish tasks and provides short term memory. This is a huge driver for us as adults and children. You want to be able to access this part of your brain effectively and entirely. So how do we do that?
Well, the brain in general when you are able to utilize it, is better at inhibiting unwanted thoughts, actions and movements.
If not working right, it cannot put the brakes on the limbic system, emotional center. You can get stuck in this emotional paradigm where all rationality goes out the window. This is not where you want to be.
The frontal lobe is the most compromised when there is any injury to the head, brain or cervical spine. Children, are very sensitive when this section of the brain is compromised. This can be from trauma during the birth process, or any falls or injuries during childhood.
Neuro-expression is how the nervous system expresses itself, and it gives us a window into how the nervous system is working. For instance, a child’s behavior can be an outward expression of the integrity of the nervous system. If a child can’t sit for a long period of time, maybe are running around or kicking the desk of a child in front of them at school, chances are they have dysfunction going on in their vestibular system. If they are forceful, they could be lacking appropriate proprioceptive input and are trying to regulate their brain through this action. Many children may seem “defiant”, and although can be perceived this way, often times don’t want to do things that make their brain uncomfortable. Sometimes defiance is yes defiance, other times it’s a protective mechanism to avoid discomfort we cannot see.
What individuals react to will determine which part of their brain isn’t “online”.
What’s important to note here is that when children, and adults for that matter get into this state in their frontal lobe, cognitive or rational types of treatment doesn’t work effectively because they don’t understand. Methods like cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and meditation won’t really be helpful here until the frontal lobe is on board. Their frontal lobe isn’t online and so rationality is out the window. When you regulate the sensory modulation and work with the frontal lobe, then you can do this other more rationale work and it be more successful!
The short story of this is that the brain ALWAYS has a reason to what it’s doing. Sometimes controlling emotions and other functions in our body is difficult when certain areas of the brain aren’t really working.
If you or someone you know has difficulty regulating their emotions, or difficulty controlling certain body systems, you might look to the brain for the answer. EVERYTHING in the body works better, when the brain is online…
So how do we make sure it is?
Work with the sensory nerves! Craniopathy and chiropractic manipulations with proper sensory/motor looping is where you’ll get the most success. I often see many children who have gone through so many different types of therapy prior to finding my clinic. Behavior therapy, speech therapy ect. Although some of these cognitive methods can provide some help, I find that many children aren’t even properly doing them because their frontal lobe isn’t online. Once we start working with those sensory deficiencies, most children can then go to different therapies and get much greater results. You can’t train something when the connection isn’t online!
This is not only for children, but for all of us. Many patients say that movement for instance is so much easier now that their brain is working better. Digestion is better, falling asleep is easier, and they aren’t reacting to stress as dramatic.
I hope you enjoyed this little snippet this week.
Despite all the negative things going on in our health system, I think 2020 is going to be a great year!
On the spotlight this week is DoTerra’s Juniper Berry.
Juniper Berry is a great oil to help balance the nervous system. It actually helps the NS to get into more of a parasympathetic tone, which we ALL need right?!
Extracted from the berries of a coniferous tree, Juniper Berry essential oil is recognized for its versatile uses and benefits. The scent of Juniper Berry oil is woody, spicy, and clean. When used for its aroma, Juniper Berry essential oil has a calming and grounding effect and can also be diffused to help cleanse and purify the air. Juniper Berry oil can be used internally as a powerful cleansing and detoxifying agent and to support urinary tract and healthy kidney function.* Applied topically, Juniper Berry essential oil acts as a natural skin toner and reduces the appearance of skin blemishes.
Juniper Berry Oil Uses and Benefits
Fun Fact
It was said that if you dreamed of gathering juniper berries in winter, you would prosper. It is also noted that the berries of a common juniper signified honor or the birth of a boy.1
Plant Description
The common juniper, Juniperus communis, is an evergreen conifer tree that can grow up to 10 meters high and can live for as long as 200 years. The tree’s bark is grey-brown while the twigs of the tree are reddish brown. The leaves of the common juniper are needle-like with prickly points and are green in color. The tree also produces male and female flowers. The male flowers are small and yellow and grow near the tip of the twigs whereas the female flowers are green and eventually evolve into the purple fruit of the tree. The fruit is a berry-like cone that is fleshy and aromatic.2 doTERRA Juniper Berry essential oil is extracted from the berry of the common juniper plant.
Chemistry of Juniper Berry Oil
Main Chemical Components: α-pinene, sabinene
One of the main chemical constituents found in Juniper Berry essential oil is alpha-pinene. Alpha-pinene is a monoterpene which, due to its chemical properties, can help uplift and renew when used aromatically. Another main chemical component in Juniper Berry oil is sabinene. For more information about the chemical constituents found in Juniper Berry oil or other essential oils, visit the doTERRA Science Blog.
Secondly, we went over school time nutrition, what to eat and tips on how to keep it healthy throughout the year.
Last week we talked about EMF’s, wireless and pollution from these frequencies and how to limit their exposure and protect your kids.
Today, we are going to go over how to keep children healthy during school with their emotions, then we will wrap up the month with immunity/flu shots and halloween candy alternatives.
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In this day and age, it is pretty difficulty managing the pressures of school. With technology all around, and social media rampant, there can be many avenues for children to be overwhelmed, bullied, compare themselves to media, and just overall maxed out.
In California, not being a native, but residing in both north and south, there’s a HUGE pressure on children to excel in school in sports. I’m not saying this is a bad thing by any means, but the pressure for some children can often times be exhausting. Kids are not meant to be under extreme amounts of stress all the time.
Stress can start as early as childhood, and carry into adulthood if not managed properly. In a recent poll that asked tens of thousands of high school students how often they feel stressed, nearly 45% said “all the time,” citing relationships and teachers as the primary reasons why. 45% ALL THE TIME. I think we often forget sometimes that kids should also be that… kids.
So, how do we support our school aged kids? And we know that college aged kids are just as if not more stressed with the pressures there.
Here are some real numbers of our kids having to take or be put on psychiatric medication in 2017.
*Currently, 6.1% American Children are being treated for ADHD with medication.
WAKE UP call here. 1 in 3 have anxiety disorders? And a 43% increase in ADHD in the past 8 years. These are really grim statistics for our younger generations, but one’s that need to be recognized and known how to deal with/prevent.
Children process emotions differently from adults. At certain ages, certain areas within our limbic system (emotional brain), start to mature. For instance, around the age of 7 we start to come into our own emotions and not rely so much on mom and dad to mimic emotions as much. This is a pivotal age. (this is also a typical age when children are “diagnosed with ADHD”.
Sometimes these emotions can be happy, and shape the child to who he will become in a positive way. Sometimes they aren’t so happy. And not even necessarily from a “bad home”, just taking certain emotions a way that wasn’t intended to be.
This comes into the part of internalization…
We don’t know why some emotions are internalized and others are not. It depends on the state of the body at the time of that person when the negative emotion was formed. Their immune system, environment, how traumatic it was, ect. But improperly internalized emotions in particular for children can set them up to repeat patterns (subconscious level) throughout their life.
Say they see mom or dad react a certain way to something. Whether good or bad, the child internalized it, and created a repeat pattern to keep reacting in the same way they did at that specific moment in time. And the important thing to note is the brain cannot tell a difference in time.
Continual improperly internalized emotions lead to not only physical stress, but internal stress within the body. They might actually have body systems change, or create patterns and mindsets that aren’t necessarily “ok”.
However, a toddler for instance cannot regulate their emotions.Toddlers have no emotional regulation skills. Their emotions can swing like a pendulum. But that’s why we have parents, to help regulate those emotions.
Emotions change the way we ADAPT to situations.
For children, all the topics we have already mentioned in the previous weeks are great ways to help monitor the emotional brain by keeping the brain/nervous system and immune system regulated.
There will be ups and downs, that is normal, but like you saw above the epidemics are still rising, so we often in this day in age have to do more.
While smartphones can provoke anxiety, they can also serve as a handy avoidance strategy. A way to not to think about classes and college, not to have to talk to people.
So what do I recommend?
Well, I obviously cannot control what happens in people’s homes, nor do I desire to or think it’s my place. But for many children they desire the need to be seen and heard. For kids, little problems are HUGE problems right? And for adults we need to understand that for children, these small things can seem like the END OF THE WORLD. It’s also normal for kids to always want to protect their family, they can’t get by without grownups helping them right?
I often times find out these things by doing NET (neuro emotional technique) in my practice. Kids, especially teens won’t always tell you whats the matter. That’s why I LOVE this technique.
It combines behavioral psychology of the conditioned response and combines it with the 5 elements of Chinese medicine that emotions are held in particular organs in the body. The intervention or decondition of the original trigger is done by chiropractic adjustment of specific levels of the spine that innervate the organs holding those emotions.
In other words, it’s a stress reduction technique, that allows me to tap in real quickly with the child about what is that exact stressor that is conditioning the body to react in a improper way, and de-conditioning it to react properly.
Cool right? Very. I’ve gotten many people off medications with this technique in combination with herbal/EO medicine.
I believe that some medications are needed in some cases, but I really don’t think ANY medications are needed for our children. Especially psychotics, unless extreme cases.
Other things I love.
Essential oils- There are so many benefits of pure essential oils, and one is that they have an emotional aspect. When you smell a certain smell it can bring you back to a certain memory right?
That’s one of the amazing properties, is certain oils can help us process and be ok with certain emotions calming the body and creating a healthy response.
I certainly wish I had EO when I was going through school! The new kids kit by DoTerra is also a wonderful option for a go to for this specific thing.
Herbals- There are many herbals and nutritional recommendations I have for children to help balance these systems without medications. Often it is doing the nervous system and healing of the gut that helps the most. But, specific herbals can be wonderful for balancing systems, and of course heavy metal and chemical toxicities from vaccines and the environment can be extremely dangerous to a child and their emotion brain.
Detoxing a child is difficult, but it is possible and can be life changing. I’ve seen many children break free from many emotional and behavioral challenges through detoxing toxins and infections.
…..I will tell you my most difficult it teenage girls. All the makeup, perfume, cell phone radiation, birth control…. There’s soooo many toxins literally hourly they are consuming. No wonder anxiety is SO common! There’s so many things to help our teens with anxiety even body image/acne problems, but you gotta eliminate some of the crap going in!……
Another point I’d like to make is to also again remember to let kids be kids. I know sports are awesome and fun, but sometimes school and sports can become a stressor. Kids in multiple sports and doing multiple academic achievements can be taxing. Some really thrive in this environment, but others don’t, and that’s OK. The point is to allow them to do things that are also FUN for them, not a STRESS.
Melissa Oil Uses and Benefits
Fun Fact
Melissa is Greek for “honey bee,” and its sweet, citrus fragrance was known to attract bees.
Plant Description
The Melissa plant, Melissa officinalis, is an herbaceous perennial that is commonly known as the lemon balm. This plant ranges from one and a half to two feet in height. The medium-green leaves of the plant are wrinkled and ovate in shape. The leaves of the plant are edible. During the summer, small, white flowers are found in the leaf axils.1 doTERRA Melissa essential oil is extracted from the leaf of the plant.
Chemistry of Melissa Oil
Main Chemical Components: Geranial, germacrene, neral, β-caryophyllene
Two of the main chemical components of Melissa essential oil are geranial and neral. These two chemical constituents have a monoterpene backbone and are part of the aldehydes functional group. Both geranial and neral contain soothing properties that strongly contribute to Melissa essential oil’s soothing abilities. To learn more about the chemical components of Melissa essential oil or other essential oils, visit the doTERRA Science Blog.
What’s a great food to help ease emotions and anxiety in children? EGGS!
B vitamin deficiency can cause children to experience confusion, irritability and anxiety. A rich source of choline and Vitamin B12, eggs are an optimal food for brain development and may ease feelings of anxiety in children. If your child is allergic to eggs, other vitamin B rich foods like beef and citrus fruits are also great options.
THAT is all for now,
Have a happy and healthy week.
Dr. Hamel
This month we will be talking about the future of our generation and how to best protect them to maintain health and vitality! We will be going over different aspects to keep our kiddos healthy. This week we will be talking about the health of their brain in nervous system, then on to nutritional recommendations/protocols, EMFs and digital toxins, and stress protocols.
Brain & Nervous System Health
As I’ve said before in previous blogs, chiropractic and nervous system health is VITAL for all, but ESPECIALLY in children is where we can make the biggest impact.
The most dynamic phase of brain development is from birth to age 2, so it is here we have the biggest impact. This is why I see so many infants in my practice, we can actually CHANGE their future by maintaining the health of the brain and nervous system.
The brain and nervous system control every function within our body. So, ultimately when the brain and nervous system aren’t in harmony, then our body won’t be either.
Same goes for kids.
What often most happens with children is birth trauma. It largely goes unspoken of and consequently our little babies are largely under treated. Left untreated, birth trauma can lead to a sequela of complications both short and long term.
Some contributing factors may include intrauterine constraint, drug use such as ptocin to increase the intensity of contractions, forceps or vacuum extraction and c-section delivery. According to a study in the Journal of American Osteopathic Association, out of 1500 babies 90% had suffered birth trauma affecting their cervical spine and cranial bones and thus their nervous system health.
If your kids aren’t at school age yet, getting their brain and nervous system checked should be your main priority to set them up for success.
But, since this blog IS about school aged children, cranial chiropractic care should also be part of their health checks.
Why you say??
One main reason is that when there is pressure on the brain, the brain won’t work efficiently. This means for kids trying to learn a wide variety of subjects, their ability to absorb/understand won’t be efficient. Their neuroplasticity will be decreased as a result.
This is why working one the head is my priority #1. Fix the nervous system, heal the body.
Another reason… immune system. The nervous system controls that too. When it’s weak, that means your immune system is compromised, your kids will be sick more, miss more days from school and overall not be happy.
Reason number 3, body pains/injuries. This is what I describe to my patients. The muscles are dumb. They only do what they are told from the nervous system. So, if the signal to the muscle is improper then the muscle will be weak, and more prone to injury. You want to prevent injuries for kids in sports and otherwise? Make sure you get routine care for their nervous system. Want them to heal from injuries quicker, then get them in immediately after an injury to ensure the brain doesn’t have time to create an improper compensatory pattern that will be permanent.
Reason number 4. Sleep!. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of our nervous system that controls rest and digestion. When not being stimulated, your child will have difficultly getting into that stage. Cranial chiropractic care directly stimulates this system, and even my adult patients can tell you feeling relaxed after care is alwayssss felt. Its because of this system.
Reason number 5. Better focus. As mentioned in number one, the brain won’t work as efficiently when inflamed, but also the emotional brain won’t work as well either. When in that sympathetic phase, fight or flight, the child can’t calm down, and forget about focusing. Stabilizing the head and brain through care will inevitably also cause changes in mood stability as well. This helps kids stay fun and lighthearted.
Reason number 6. Less allergies. Airborne wise, when the sinuses are draining properly, less allergies will happen. Additionally, when digestion is running smoothly because of that parasympathetic stimulation, they will react less to foods. This doesn’t mean they still get to eat whatever they want, we will go into that next week, but their reaction will be decreased because their inflammation is down. They will also be able to process toxins better. When the lymphatic flow is balanced, things will be eliminated better.
Reason number 7. Improve posture by promoting body balance. We see bad posture everywhere is school aged children now. Texting and screens definitely don’t help, as well as improper backpack usage, but chiropractic and cranial work can dramatically affect the posture in a child. This not only improves function but also promotes self esteem. Scoliosis is a CRANIAL problem. AGAIN, scoliosis is a CRANIAL problem because of torsion of the brain tissue and spinal cord. If left untreated this can cause a myriad of symptoms for your child later on including lung and heart function and pain and discomfort.
Reason number 8. Bed wetting. Bed wetting can occur and still does occur frequently.In a study, 46 enuretic children that were placed under chiropractic care. The children were under care for a 10 week period preceded by and followed by a 2 week nontreatment period.
25% of the treatment-group children had 50% or more reduction in the wet night frequency from baseline to post-treatment while none among the control group had such reduction.
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I will also say, being a researcher myself and going to international chiropractic conferences to speak, that mostly all the chiropractic research is a good majority from osteopathy and cranial work. Meaning cranial care trumps all! 🙂
Reasons kids miss school, and ways chiropractic helps alleviate this:
1. Ear infections: Chiropractic research with EAR infections showed that 93% improved 75% in 10 days or less, 43% with one for 2 treatments.
2. Sick: There are a number of research articles that have consistently shown bursts of white blood cell activity following chiropractic adjustments, and recent research out of the University of Virginia Medical School just found that the lymphatic system has direct contact with the brain!
3. Asthma: There is a growing amount of research and case studies supporting the efficacy of chiropractic adjustments in helping children with asthma. Chiropractic adjustments can help children better deal with conditions such as asthma by reducing irritation on the nervous system and boosting the healing ability of the body.
4. ADD/ADHD:There is a growing body of research that is linking physical stress of the nervous system to the undesirable behaviors that are common to the diagnosis ADHD. How many of these kids are suffering with subluxation or nerve irritation that has gone undiagnosed? They can’t calm down the brain.
5. Bullying at school. The Report is largely made up of cases histories of all the 244 boys many of whom undoubtedly suffered from various emotional and learning disorders.
I have been able to notice a marked improvement in the mental and physical condition of the boys and in school work and conduct; also, there has been a larger number of paroles during that period than any previous period during the past four years.”
“We have been able to accomplish results far beyond their fondest hopes and expectations in the rehabilitation of these boys. The teachers have voluntarily and without solicitation signed a petition asking for an all-time or full-time chiropractor in that institution.”
6. Female issues related to menstruation. Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are more likely to have spinal dysfunction, compared with PMS-free women,. Investigators examined 54 women with PMS and 30 women without PMS.
A relatively high incidence of spinal dysfunction exists in PMS sufferers compared with a comparable group of non-PMS sufferers. This is suggestive that spinal dysfunction could be a causative factor in PMS and that chiropractic manipulative therapy may offer an alternative therapeutic approach for PMS sufferers.”
Walsh MJ, Polus BI, T. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999 May; 22 (4): 216-220
7. Fatigue/ Tired. More than 60% of the population adults and children battle sleep.
Studies show that chiropractic can actually help with insomnia allowing you to get better, more restful, and more beneficial sleep.
The combination of pain alleviation, increased flexibility, and overall wellness as well as stress relieving properties allow your body and mind to relax so that you can fall asleep easier and stay asleep. Incorporating chiropractic care into your everyday routine can help you get a better night’s sleep.
8. Pains/Growing Pains. Growing pains are NOT normal, they are a sign of nervous system stress. Here is a case study showing how chiropractic care improves pain. After one visit, the patient did not complain of leg pain for three days. After 7 visits, the mother reported that his son was sleeping through the night without leg pains. By the 15th , the child had remained for the most part symptom-free for almost 3 weeks.
This can all be applied to college aged kids as well, where the intellectual demand is even higher!! Chiropractic should be part of your health care!!
OIL OF THE WEEK
An exceptional addition to the resinous oils doTERRA offers, Copaiba is extracted from copaiba trees in the Amazon rainforest. The essential oil is steam distilled from the copaiba oleoresin, a substance made up of resin and essential oils. The collection process of the oleoresin is unique among essential oils—it is tapped from the tree in a similar way to how maple trees are for their syrup. The oleoresin is then steam distilled to produce the essential oil.
Our Favorite Uses
Copaiba is a incredibly versatile oil that has been used for centuries. See some of our favorite ways to use Copaiba below:
The Chemistry of Copaiba
The synergy of chemical constituents in Copaiba makes it unique. Copaiba’s main chemical component is beta-caryophyllene, a chemical similar to cannabinoids found in cannabis that may protect nerve cells and have benefits for the cardiovascular and immune systems.* However, while caryophyllene is responsible for some of the bioactive properties of Copaiba, many of the other properties of the oil are thanks to the diterpenes uniquely found in Copaiba.
Plant Description
Copaifera officinalis trees are evergreen trees native to Central and South America, where it flourishes best in tropical rainforest habitats (though it can grow in both wet and dry forests). The trees themselves are tall, and can grow to more than 100 feet tall.
Sourcing
The Amazon rainforest represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. doTERRA is proud to partner with a large network of copaiba harvesters that sustainably collect their oleoresin and ensure that the trees will be around for years to come.
AMAZING Avocado Gelato
A great go to for kids without all the sugar. Also a great brain food!
Ingredients:
2 tbsp chocolate protein powder
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup avocado (cut in cubes)
1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
1 drop stevia, chocolate flavor
1 tsp coconut butter
Preparation:
That is all for now,
Wishing you a Happy and Healthy Week.
Dr. Hamel