I see too many 10-year-old kids in the line at Starbucks before school grabbing their iced coffee cooler or mocha lattes. I am always shocked that any parent would allow their kid to eat something like this-EVER. It is especially shocking considering that this is supposed to fuel them until lunchtime and they are expected to concentrate and behave throughout the day.

For kids to concentrate they need good quality whole foods, a balance of carbohydrates and protein and very little sugar. Here are a few do’s and don’t for breakfast with your kids.

Do Try to get some protein in them before they leave their house in the morning. If they like yogurt, try mixing a scoop of protein powder into the yogurt. A good quality protein powder makes the yogurt taste like pudding. Lots of kids like it.

Do Get creative and try to make they a fruit smoothie with the protein powder as well. If you leave it with just fruit it is very sugary so adding the protein powder to balance it is virtually tasteless, helps make it a bit thicker and shake like and is healthier.

Do Use whole foods. While these ideas with protein powder added are better than their average breakfast, whole foods are better. How about a vegetable omelet? Cut up veggies they like ahead of time and add them to the eggs each morning. It won’t take more than 5-7 minutes to make and your kid is out the door with a healthy breakfast. If you can’t find veggies they like, you need to start improving your cooking skills now and model healthy eating for them. Kids usually won’t eat what parents themselves don’t enjoy.

Don’t Start the day with a sugary cereal or really any kind of cereal. Most are very high in sugar, take minutes to break down in their bodies and send their blood sugar spiking and then dropping very quickly. Also-they have very little protein and….the vitamin-fortified cereals….hate to break it to you…I’d love to test the bioavailability of the vitamins added to the cereal. I’m guessing there isn’t a lot of nutritional value coming through. Empty calories.

Don’t Allow them to start their day with a pop or coffee or any other sugar and caffeine-laden beverage. Adding all those chemicals to their little bodies at a young age isn’t good for them.

Don’t This should go without saying but the energy drinks that are so prevalent today…not good for you…not good for your kids. This is just good common sense. The amount of sugar and caffeine and chemicals in these beverages make the kids in the line at Starbucks look like they are getting healthy food.

Listen, I’m a parent and it’s not easy to get your kids to eat what you want them to eat.  That being said, you owe it to them to make quality decisions regarding their diet.  During childhood, you are setting the stage and creating eating habits that will last a lifetime.  Don’t sell your kids short and don’t let them get away with sub-par nutrition.  You’ll thank me later :-).

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the health of your family, please give us a call at 918-940-4630.  We would be happy to schedule your complimentary consultation with Dr. Travis Ring of Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic to help you uncover that which is limiting your health.  Thank you for allowing us to be your chiropractor.

The post What Should My Child Eat for Breakfast? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

A recently published pilot study in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (www.jvsr.com) suggests that chiropractic care may help adults suffering from concentration problems and attention deficit disorder.

The study was performed by Yannick Pauli, DC, director of the (Centre Wellness NeuroFit” in Lausanne, Switzerland.  Dr. Pauli is a chiropractor specializing in wellness neurology.

“In this pilot study, we used objective outcome measures to evaluate attention in nine adult patients before and after two months of wellness chiropractic care.  All patients experienced significant improvement in concentration and 88% normalized parts of the test,” explained Dr. Pauli.  “Although the results are preliminary and more research is needed, the outcome of the study suggests that patients suffering from attention deficit disorder benefited from chiropractic care.”  Research has shown that the ability to concentrate is affected in a number of disorders such as ADD/ADHD, traumatic brain injuries, dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.

In the United States, between 1-6%of adults and 3-10% of children suffer from ADHD.  Problems with attention go far beyond the ability to concentrate.  Epidemiological studies have shown that individuals suffering from ADHD suffer greater risks associated with daily living such as higher rates of motor vehicle collisions, increased risk of substance abuse, greater risk of failing school, increased likelihood of divorce, and even greater difficulty managing money.

According to Dr. Pauli, concentration problems affect all parts of our life and even possibly our ability to heal.  Although most people think of attention as the ability to focus on the external world only, new health paradigms indicate that we can direct our attention inward as well.  The clinical experience of Pauli and his colleagues suggests that our ability to heal is highly dependent upon the ability of our brain to pay attention to what is going on in the body.

“Studies done with people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that those patients suffer when parts of their brain become deactivated, such as the pre-frontal cortex, while others become hyper-functioning,” Pauli noted.  “Our hypothesis is that this leads to an inability for the brain to pay attention to the body’s internal processes, resulting in decreased body awareness and decreased ability to access healing resources.  Our study is part of the first attempt to document whether chiropractic care could be helpful to improve attention, and therefore all areas of the life that are dependent upon this crucial cognitive function.”

Usually, attention deficit is a clinical diagnosis.  But to avoid potential subjectivity, Pauli used an objective measure of attention, called a continuous performance test.  “It is a computer-based evaluation that objectively measures various parameters of attention” he explained.  “This system is also used by some neurologists and psychiatrists to find the exact dosage of medication they are going to prescribe for attention-deficit sufferers.  Our preliminary results suggest that attention can be improved naturally with chiropractic.”

The connection between attention, a process occurring in the brain, and chiropractic, which is generally associated with spinal health, is not readily obvious to most people.  Yet, the research emphasizes the direct link between the spine and brain activity.

“As a chiropractor specializing in wellness neurology, I understand that the spine is as much about neurology as it is about biomechanics” Pauli states.

The articulations and the muscles of the spine are rich in mechanoreceptors, which are the sensors that send information to the nerve system.  “Each time we work with the spine, we activate neurological circuits in the direction of the brain and bring the nerve system into balance,” the researcher says.

Pauli also notes that chiropractors affect, in particular, a small part at the back of the brain called the cerebellum.  Studies have shown that this structure is involved in attention.  “Higher parts of the brain are also dependent upon the proper balance and function in the cerebellum,” he elaborated.  “If the cerebellum does not function at par, the rest of the brain becomes somewhat clumsy and by activating the spinal receptors and balancing the cerebellum, we help the brain function better.”

According to Dr. Matthew McCoy, DC, editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, “this preliminary study is exciting.  It is part of an increasing amount of research suggesting that chiropractic care may be an effective natural choice for people suffering from ADD/ADHD.  It offers the possibility of a new option for millions of children and adults that are seeking to manage their conditions naturally.”

If you ever have any questions about chiropractic or if a visit to a chiropractor is right for you, Dr. Ring would love to sit down with you for a complimentary consultation.  Give us a call at 918-940-4630 to schedule your appointment.  Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

The post Can Chiropractic Help ADD? A Natural Route To Help People With ADD first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.