Tag Archives: nervous system

Healing in the Holidays Series Part 3

Happy Monday Warriors!

I hope you all have been enjoying this month’s topics all centered around the holidays.  We’ve previously talked about nervous system and brain health, and nutrition pointers to remain healthy.  This week we are going to go into more of the stress related issues that come up during the holidays and how to remain in balance and come out stronger!

Also, last week on my instagram, I gave some healthy gift giving options if you still need some pointers!

Check it out here:https://www.instagram.com/p/B58BvSkn6sz/

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There will be no blog next week as it is Christmas Week, so you all enjoy your family and loved ones and we will be back in action for the first of the year!There are many way to help prepare your emotional system for increased stress loads.  The best thing is to really do that.. prepare. 

Just as we have prepared our body in the previous weeks, we don’t really think to “prepare” for the holidays.

However, for some with increased things to do, gifts to get, family drama, parties, maybe financial stress, it can come as a little stressful time.  You also may neglect yourself through the process as to take care of everyone else. 

Although we can’t control our family or their reactions, we can however control our own and how we “choose” to respond.  We can also “choose” to change our mindset for other stressful situations if we recognize a pattern.

Here are some tips to help you get out of a specific mindset:

1. Be Realistic.  The holidays don’t have to be perfect . As families change and grow, traditions and rituals often change as well. Choose a few to hold on to, and be open to creating new ones. For example, if your adult children can’t come to your house, find new ways to celebrate together, such as sharing pictures, emails or videos.

2. Set aside differences that may be in the family. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don’t live up to all of your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. And be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are they’re feeling the effects of holiday stress too.

Although there’s some heavy topics going on right now in our healthcare system, finding the right time to speak your truth is key.  I wouldn’t say don’t speak your truth because we must must keep sharing about the corruption, but don’t feel like you have to say it at every turn.  Trust me, as being a health disruptor I have no fear speaking the truth, but what I’ve learned is that certain people need different approaches.  The holidays as all times should be about showing love, so spreading the truth in a way that is loving is key.

If you need information about topics like vaccines and how to approach it, I suggest the website learntherisk.org.  She has wonderful research and info to help!

3. Stick to a budget!  Before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend. Then stick to your budget. Don’t try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts.

Try these alternatives:

  • Donate to a charity in someone’s name.
  • Give homemade gifts.
  • Start a family gift exchange.

4. Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list. That’ll help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. And make sure to line up help for party prep and cleanup.  Goal setting is HUGE!!

Don’t try to make HUGE yearly goals or set new goals to try to get done in December.  Set your goals for earlier in the year to celebrate during the holidays!

5. Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can’t participate in every project or activity. If it’s not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time.

6. Take A Breather.. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind, slowing your breathing and restoring inner calm.

  1. Some options may include:
    • Taking a walk at night and stargazing.
    • Prayer
    • Listening to soothing music.
    • Getting a massage or CHIRO!
    • Reading a book.

7.  Neuro Emotional Technique.  Come in and get some NET if you know things are going to be stressful and you already are feeling it!  Let’s change that mindset so you can go into your holiday with ease! This Technique is extremely successful for stress reduction.

8.  Essential Oils.  Essential Oils by DoTerra are amazing to diffuse in your home to help with emotional overwhelm, to carry with you or to take as a daily supplement to help calm the system.  Frankincense is a great oil for emotional stability as well as Balance and Melissa for anxiety.  I also like diffusing On Guard to protect against negative energies:)

9. Nutrition.  I love using specific herbals to help if you know you are going to be in a stressful situation.  These will help you not go off track and handle the stress with ease once your stress organs are supported.  Some of my favorites are withania complex and adrenal complex by mediherb.  Of course, as we talked about last week, getting your genetic nutrition protocols in order will cause you to need less support, but these herbs are great to have in a pinch.

That’s all for this week!  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!! Thank you for such a wonderful year in San Diego!  I am truly blessed by all of you.

That is all for now.

 

Have a happy and healthy week!

 

DR. Hamel

 

 

OIL OF THE WEEK

On the spotlight this week is DoTerra’s Adaptiv Blend.

When stress and tension seem to be relentless, Adaptiv Calming Blend is the precise solution. Use Adaptiv to help get comfortable with new surroundings or situations. When a big meeting is coming up, or for other important events, keep Adaptiv Calming Blend on hand. In preliminary studies, the scent of Lavender, a main ingredient of Adaptiv, has been found to contribute to an environment conducive to performing tasks requiring sustained attention. Lavender, Magnolia, Neroli, and Sweetgum provide stress-relieving effects while Wild Orange and Spearmint energize and uplift. Copaiba and Rosemary soothe anxious feelings to round out the calming blend. Whether you’re feeling fatigued or restless, indecisive or irritable, Adaptiv Calming Blend is part of the toolbox to help the body and mind to stay balanced. Use Adaptiv Calming Blend in combination with the Adaptiv capsules for synergistic results.

Uses

  • Soak in a relaxing Epsom Salt bath by adding three to four drops to bath water.
  • Mix three drops with Fractionated Coconut Oil for soothing massage.
  • Diffuse the oil in a room diffuser to promote a centered and calm mindset.
  • Apply one drop to hands, rub together, and inhale deeply as needed throughout the day.

The “protective mechanism” of the nervous system.

The protective mechanisms of the nervous system.

Happy Monday Tribe!

For all the moms out there, I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the past couple of blogs about information regarding nutrition and genetics, more will come on that topic, but this week we will be switching gears a little to talk about the nervous system.

Did you know that your nervous system creates illusions?

What do you mean Dr. Hamel?!

Well, as you know the body has an amazing ability to heal.  With that being said, it’s always looking for ways to conserve its energy. How does it preserve it’s energy?
Creating protective mechanisms. 

Let me give you an example:

Say you injure your shoulder, and tear or strain a rotator cuff muscle.
Since the body heals quickly, you should heal that soft tissue in roughly a few weeks or so.               What is the norm?

What I hear pretty commonly in this example for instance is some individuals will come in with a “shoulder injury” or rotator cuff injury they had months and years ago.
It does NOT take a tissue injury that long to heal.

So, what happens?

Well the body DOES heal, but something called neurological inhibition can happen after an injury.  What does this mean?  This means that the nervous system will literally coral actions in the movement of your shoulder for protection, so you don’t injure it again.  It creates Illusions. 

What are these illusions?

1. Pain
2. Dysfunction
3. Decreased range of motion 

Pain is NOT physical… Did you know that?  It’s a signal!  It’s a signal of disconnect from our nervous system to itself.  

What is really happening is when there is a movement with pain or limitation in motion of the joint, your nervous system is saying, don’t do that, I remember the last time you did that we got hurt.  So, it creates illusions to make you limited. 
How do we really heal this injury?!

We make the reconnection!  We can’t reach out and remove pain can we?  

Let me give you another example of how the nervous system plays illusions:

– Foot drop.  This is usually is called a “paralysis of the foot” (although not true)
The person can’t dorsiflex or move the foot, so it usually just drops and kind of slaps down on the ground.  There are various different levels of foot drop.  Maybe people have minor forms.
What happens here?

At some point there was an injury to the low back nerves or nerves that connect that muscle.  In order for the body to conserve energy, it causes the foot to drop (the foot is associated with the same nerve as the injury).  This is a protective mechanism.
The nervous system has placed an unnecessary protective mechanism to limit the body.  It can be neurological, physical, emotional, chemical or physiological (organ related) limitation.  It does this because it does not recognize it is unnecessary.  It’s like its saying if it’s “not broken, don’t’ fix it”.

Given the examples above, a person unless paralyzed can have significant inhibition occurring in their nervous system at any time.  The illusion is that strength is 100% health.  This is just not true.

The good news? 
There are tools and ways to strengthen neurological weaknesses to what is considered in all medical professions as full rehabilitation.

Our lives are dynamic, we perform multiple task simultaneously!  That means the body when being testing needs to be tested according to those multiple tasks! (Doctors typically don’t test this way) Through specific testing in my practice I am able to test your ability to perform various functions simultaneously.  When things aren’t 100% their is not enough energy to go around.

What about this example:
Most of my patients know this one if you’ve had my infection protocols, but why do people have parasites?  Because the nervous system does not recognize that they are there!  Same for other infections as well!

Same goes for vision problems, reading, heart rate problems, spectrum disorders.   All are nervous system processing issues and nervous system disconnection.

So how do we make the body recognize all of this to correct itself?
Wait you mean these can all be fixed?!

Yes, they can! 

All we need to do is make the nervous system RECOGNIZE that dysfunction.  We do this through muscle testing, light therapy and craniopathy/chiropractic care.  It’s like working on the software of the body, reconnecting systems.

Exciting right!

AMAZING!  There’s so much potential to heal nerves and the nervous system, and they CAN be healed.  You can even strengthen nerves for specific motions, sports and activities. Say if you are a cyclist and need to look over your shoulder.  If your vision isn’t working (cranial nerves), you will be limited, and may have a blind spot.  However, if we strengthen those specific nerves in the action of when you are cycling, we can strengthen any limitations!

Next time we will talk about the sensory part of the nervous system and ways to heal this section which is huge for many individuals as well.  This includes numbness in an area, cold/hot sensations, vibration, and proprioception.

Stay tuned!

 

OIL OF THE WEEK:

On the spotlight this week is DoTerra’s Copaiab Soft Gels.

Traditionally, Copaiba has been administered orally to promote the health of cardiovascular, immune, digestive, respiratory, and nervous systems.* When taken internally, Copaiba essential oil may be calming, soothing, and supportive to the nervous system.* Antioxidant support of Copaiba essential oil promotes healthy immune function and response, while supporting cellular health and function.* The many benefits Copaiba Softgels provide to the body also include supporting the healthy functioning of the circulatory system and soothing anxious feelings.* Copaiba Softgels are easy to swallow and provide a convenient way to receive the internal benefits of Copaiba essential oil.



 

That is all for now.

 

Happy a  happy and healthy week!

Dr Hamel

 

 

Stress isn’t in your head, it’s in your nervous system

How to Survive the Holidays Stress Free!

Happy Monday and happy December everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed last months topics all about auto-immunity and the immune system in general.

This month since it tis the season, we will going over various ways to help increase your body’s armor to keep the stress down.  We know the holidays are a happy time where families and loved ones come together, but it can also be a time of increased stress, trying to get things done, finances, family drama, traveling, ect.

We will also be prepping to do a start of the year 21 day cleanse to begin the year off on a great start!
(More to come about that topic in next week’s post about nutrition and traveling).


Step 1.

To start off the month, it’s important to prep the body for the holiday season.  Knowing that there will be extra stress, making sure your nervous system is at its best is key #1.

For a start, it has been shown in research that chiropractic adjustments boost the immune system. 

What happens with increased stress?  Your immune system goes down.  That’s why college students always experience getting sick after finals or on their breaks.  Once the adrenaline wears off, the effects kick in.

January is also the month of resolutions and goals (hopefully you have goals all year:)), but regardless, maybe a certain goal is saying: you’d like to workout more or eat better, you have to make sure your body can handle it. 

Just like how you would prep your notes for a presentation, or making a meal plan.  You need some sort of preparation for the body.

The prep phase so to speak.  In order to prep, you need to make sure your pain levels are down, and your brain and nervous system are communicating with one another.  When you do this, it makes less stress on the body, so that when those periods of increased stress come, your body can handle it and not go completely off course.

Cranial work in general is an amazing tool we have to help with the stress response. 

In research done specifically using cranial work for anxiety, depression and sleep, a study in 2011 testing over 100 patients,  found that using cranial based osteopathy (which i do) showed improvements in anxiety, increase in physical function, significant improvement in sleep function.  This is great!  A main reason in this study was improving sleep, and overall physical function.

When you are able to move pain free, and sleep (deep and rested), your body can heal and isn’t burdened by the littlest of things that come it’s way.

Which brings me to this point.  If you are in chronic pain, or aren’t sleeping, or you are already stressed, it is literally like typing into the computer all the keys at the same time.  Your brain can’t handle it.  Any little disruption, even a little stress can throw you off at that point.

So our goal with the cranial care is to create that optimal environment for the brain, to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, and make sure the network of nerves are effectively communicating. 

It’s also important to note that stress isn’t always in your HEAD, but in your NERVOUS system. 
Have you ever been told when you’re stressed to stop and just relax? That it’s all in your head? It would be nice if it were that simple. But it’s not.
“Physiology research shows that the stress response memory lives in your nervous system. Take for example exposure to a stressful event. One in which you felt helpless, hopeless, and lacked control. In this case your autonomic nervous system (ANS) is engaged. This is the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling unconscious bodily actions like breathing. To be more specific, it was the sympathetic branch (fight or flight) of the ANS that kicked in while you were strained. In addition, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of the midbrain began firing. In which a signal from your hypothalamus sends a hormonal message to your pituitary gland that stimulates to your adrenal glands.

To activate this fight or flight response, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are released from your adrenal glands. They help our body suddenly mobilize to flee danger. According to Peter A. Levine, trauma expert in the field of psychotherapy, trauma occurs when this biological process is overwhelmed and a person is unable to release and process the stressful event. It is possible to avoid a traumatic response by discharging the energy generated. For example, shaking, crying, and screaming can allow the individual to physically process the stress.

However, if the stress response is not processed, it remains in the tissues of the body. When a subsequent stressful event that does not pose a serious threat occurs, the traumatic memory is recalled. A large amount of stress hormones are released. Blood rushes to extremities, pupils dilate, muscle tone increases presenting as tension, breathing rate increases, the heartbeats faster, and sweating occurs. Hence, the nervous system responds as if this small incident is life threatening.

This biological response is clearly beyond the ability to rationally control. You can’t think your way out of it. Chronic stress leads to dissociation or immobility, a state of sympathetic charge and hormonal release, which is health damaging. The brainstem (the primitive part of the brain) governs emotional experience and biological response. When the brainstem is activated by fight or flight, it trumps the more developed front of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. It is therefore not possible to be in the primitive state of fight or flight and also to think rationally and critically (as the prefrontal cortex would have us do).

The work is then to re-train the body. These are tools to deactivate the sympathetic response and activate the opposing parasympathetic response, called the rest and digest mechanism. The goal is to feel safe. To regulate breathing, slow the heartbeat, and circulate blood back to the vital organs.

The next time someone suggests it’s all in your head, you will have a different response. ”
-Melody Walford.

Re-training the body through calming certain nerves down or reflexes or while stimulating others like the parasympathetic nerves in the brain is key here.

We need to clear the stress out of the nervous system first!! This will prep the body to be able to handle things that come up!

Next week we will talk about food stress, if you’re traveling in the winter and exercise to keep you on track.

Also, if you have any FLEX or HSA spending you need to use before the end of the year Dr. Hamel accepts it as form of payment!

Let’s get the prep phase started so you can really enjoy this holiday season and not feel like you need to revamp your whole life in January.

If you’ve been holding your palms on your temples all too often, you might be coming up short on certain nutrients. Research suggests that folic acid deficiency can suppress the production of S-adenosylmethionine, a naturally occurring compound that helps produce serotonin and dopamine. Compounded with the fact that when you’re chronically stressed, your brain begins to produce excess stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and fewer neurotransmitters associated with relaxation and happiness, like dopamine and serotonin, you’ve got a problem. Luckily, scientists believe that improving folic acid status can help reinstate happy hormone levels. To reap the benefits, whip up a three-cup spinach salad and you’ll reach nearly half of the daily recommended intake of folate for both men and women. For more sources of folate, try beans, chickpeas, lentils, asparagus, avocado, or broccoli.

Even if you have the MTHFR gene, getting FOLATE from your food is the best way!!  Folic acid supplementation is the synthetic form and can be toxic if you have any of those mutations.

 

 

That is all for now,

 

Have a happy and healthy week!

 

 

Dr. Hamel

Back to School. Prepping your child/college child for a healthy year.

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed last month’s topics revolving around digestion!  We covered a lot, so if you missed it, you can go on my website to search through them!.

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.

Kids heal quick, we just don’t want them healing improperly.  

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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According to the internal pediatric chiropractic association, regular chiropractic checkups can identify spinal dysfunction in children and specific gentle adjustments may help to enahce future function and well being.

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

ON the spotlight this week is DoTerra’s  Copaiba. Whats better yet!  It’s not in soft gels!

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:

  1. For your skin. Copaiba has the capability of keeping your skin clear and clean while reducing the appearance of blemishes. To take advantage of this benefit, add Copaiba to your toner and apply to your face in upward circular motions. Or, apply it directly your skin before applying moisturizer.
  2. As a personal fragrance. Oils that blend well with Copaiba include Roman Chamomile, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Frankincense, or Ylang Ylang. Using any of these oils that appeal to you, create your own personal fragrance in a roller bottle, and then fill the rest of the bottle with Fractionated Coconut Oil.
  3. For whole-body wellness. Most of the body can benefit from Copaiba—it supports the cardiovascular, immune, digestive, nervous, and immune system.* South Americans have used copaiba resin for the health of many of these same systems. To take advantage of these benefits, add one to two drops to water, juice, or make your own tea using warm water and honey.
  4. To calm occasional anxious feelings. When you’re facing a stressful day ahead or feeling worried, diffusing Copaiba’s woody scent can help calm any anxious feelings you may be experiencing.
  5. As a way to protect and support your cells. Take one to two drops in a veggie capsule to take advantage of the antioxidants—the substance that stops potential damage to your cells from oxidation.*
  6. To unwind. Diffuse it in your room and focus on the scent to fall into a meditative state. Or, you can also use in a calming bath by adding two to three drops to body wash before mixing it in the water.

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:

  • In a blender, mix all the ingredients except coconut flakes. Blend until creamy and smooth. Mixture should be very thick!
  • Smooth entire contents into a cake pan or drop in tablespoon-sized balls (like cookies, but a little thinner) onto a cookie sheet. Note that it is easier to spread the mixture into a cake pan, but it is a little more challenging to cut it after it has been frozen. Dropping onto a cookie sheet can be a little messy, but it is easier to grab and eat after freezing. Try it both ways and see how you like it.
  • Sprinkle coconut over the top.
  • Place cake pan or cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 2 hours until frozen.
  • Serve as a frozen treat. They taste like Fudgesicles!


That is all for now,

 

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy Week.

 

Dr. Hamel

How Chiropractic BOOSTS Fertility (Men & Women)

How Chiropractic Boosts Fertility ( Men & Women)

Happy Monday Everyone!  Continuing on this week about Fertility, We are going to be diving in to each section of last week’s blog.  Natural options as to how we can BOOST fertility in men AND women.

In last week’s blog, we chatted about how Nervous System Health can boost fertility, and why it is part of my 120 day Fertility Program.But why is this so important, and how does Chiropractic help with this?!

I’m SOO Glad you asked! 🙂

Let’s do a little anatomy review here first:

The brain controls every function of our body.  It does so by sending “signals” to the rest of your body to control functions.  
Here is an example:
Your brain sends signals through nerves that go specifically to your heart, to signal it to beat.The same thing happens in your hormone regulation.

There is a gland in your brain called the pituitary gland….

(not my picture)

This gland sends signals to: for women, the ovaries, and men the testes.  (It also sends signals to other organs, but for the sake of this topic we will talk about this).

This gland sits in a bone in the head called the sphenoid bone.  Its like a little saddle that holds this gland in place.

However, this bone, the sphenoid is pretty much the center of all cranial bone movement.

This is a view from the inside of the skull (looking in)

(not my picture)

 

Because of it’s location, any slight disruption in the movement can cause pressure into the pituitary gland.

What disrupts it?

A few things can cause disruption within the movement of this bone:

1. Birth.  The birth process itself can put pressure on certain areas of the head, that aren’t “normal” .  Sometimes the body is able to adapt, and the bones will naturally move into their correct place, other times (for most of us), they need guiding to get back into their original position.  This is where craniopathy care comes in.

2.  Any head trauma.  Hitting your head as a child, concussions, even just rocking the head back and forth disrupts the movement.

3.  Clenching of the teeth.  Do you clench your teeth?  DO you know you clench your teeth?  A good majority of my patients had NO idea they were clenchers.  Even their dentists never told them or didn’t know.  Clenching is a sign that there is dysfunction in the cranial system and inflammation.  The more you clench the more stress on the cranial system and on that delicate pituitary gland.

4.  Emotional trauma.  This can cause disruption within the flow of these bones as well.  The cranial system is intricately connected to the emotional system.  Usually one affects the other.

5. Low back/pelvis injuries.  Since the body is connected low back injuries affect the upper regions as well and can make the body going into compensatory patterns, which put the cranial bones in abnormal positions.

So… If there is disruption, then the SIGNAL from the pituitary won’t get effectively to the sex organs, because the connection is poor.  It’s like someone tripped the breaker switch.

The same goes for nerves that actually stimulate the sex organs.  

The lumbar spine, which is your LOW BACK, has nerves that come directly out of the discs and canals in the vertebrae.  These nerves control the function of the organs.

(not my picture)

 

So if the nerve coming out of that vertebrae in the low back is not functioning properly, the organs that are innervated by that region will not function well either. 

How do the nerves in the low back get compromised?

In chiropractic we call it a “subluxation”, meaning the movement within that joint is not proper, which then affects the nerves. The abnormal movement makes the signaling compromised.
Some examples of how they get compromised:

-improper postures
-injuries
-stress
-sitting too much
-daily activities
-clenching
-pelvic floor dysfunction

These are all examples of what makes that low back area get dysfunctional.

In my practice, I have seen hormone cases where they have taken everything in the book for fertility.  And it’s just as simple as actually getting the nerves functioning through craniopathy specific chiropractic that makes the difference.

You see, you can give all the supplements in the world, but if the nerve signal isn’t getting to the organ, or your brain is inflamed, fertility will not be optimal.  The supplements you take probably won’t be as affective either.

Get the nervous system functioning first, and then fill in the gaps nutritionally and emotionally.

This is why chiropractic is #1 in my 120 day fertility program.

Heal the brain and nervous system, and see what the body can do!

This goes for men too.  When signaling isn’t proper, your sex organs and hormone regulation won’t be as great either, which means the genetics you are making for your child won’t be optimal either…

You didn’t know you can change your genes to create the healthiest baby?!  That’s for another day….

That is all for now.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy week.
Dr. Hamel