Throughout every ones life we are all presented with many different types of adversity.  Whether it be health , monetary, relationship, or family no one is immune to adversity in their life.  Many of the wealthiest people in this world have been through some serious financial hardship in their past including bankruptcy.  So the question becomes not how to avoid these problems, but rather how to come out the other side not only victorious, but stronger. 

My faith tells me that God will never give any of us more than we can handle.  I also believe that many times we are given these very problems simply as a test to our faith and resolve to see through them.  One simple solution is to begin to look at these not necessarily as “problems”, but more as “challenges”.  How are you going to respond to the challenge?  Are you going to come out victorious?  Looking back on different challenges I have had in my life to this point, one thing I know for sure it they never look quite as bad after you have conquered them.  If you are able to take your emotion out of the situation in the moment and think of the best logical solution, nine times out of ten you will have a better outcome.  Be strong with everything that life throws at you and let adversity be your friend.

I am not only thankful for all that chiropractic has given me and my family, but for all that it has given the world.  I believe God gave The Palmer family chiropractic to share with the world.  For myself chiropractic is not just an amazing occupation, it is a mission, a way of life.  Don’t miss out on all that chiropractic has to offer.  Get you and your family under regular chiropractic care today.

Those are just a few of the factors that go into the lifestyle aspect of your health.  The explanation I give to patients regularly is that genetics may be the loaded gun, but what you choose to do with the loaded gun is up to you.  If you lead a healthy well balanced lifestyle your chances of staying healthy far outweigh someone who is banking on “good genes” alone.  “Good genes” will only take you so far.

So you are probably asking yourself what am I supposed to do, I have to wear deodorant.  Well you have a couple choices.  The one there is no way around is that antiperspirant is absolutely bad for you and there is no alternative.  Antiperspirants clog the sweat glands under your arms trapping in toxins.  This can be seriously detrimental to your health.  As far as deodorant goes there are alternatives at your local health food stores, and even at places like Wegmans.  Look for natural deodorants, but be careful because not all “natural” deodorants are paraben-free.

 Yet again more ugly news has come out about another vaccine, this time it is Gardasil.  Gardasil is a vaccine intended to guard against human papillomavirus (HPV) which is routinely being recommended to females of various age’s including young girls.  Many news reports have come out in the past 2 weeks, regarding over 8000 complaints involving the shot.  The reports include many reported cases of paralysis and as many as 18 deaths.  Meanwhile the makes of Gardasil, Merck, as well as the Centers for Disease control, say there is no reason to believe the reports are linked to the vaccine.  Let me give you a couple examples, then I will let you be the judge.

One of the many reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is the case of a 23 year old female who received her first injection of Gardasil on January 31, 2008.  She experienced anaphylactic shock 2 minutes after vaccination, which can be immediately life threatening.  The second was a 14 year old female who suffered an immediate post injection reaction.  After receiving the shot, the young girl took 6 steps, fell to the ground unconscious and had a 60 second grand mal seizure.  

Parents of those children who suffered injuries (or death) are crying foul on vaccine makers and doctors for not being more upfront as to the risks associated with vaccination programs such as the HPV and cervical cancer campaign.  This gives us reason to ask, are we just part of a huge medical experiment?  Now this may be a little extreme, but there is no doubt you should get expert advice and research trusted sources before you give yourself or your child any vaccine.

This past weekend my wife Jenn (seen pictured here) and I competed in the Tri in the Buff triathlon and duathlon at Evangola state park.  The duathlon, which I competed in, is a 3 part race involving a 5K run, a 40K bike ride, and then a 5K run again.  Not being a big swimmer, I left the triathlon to my wife.  She competed in the sprint distance triathlon which entails a 750 meter swim (1/2 mile), 20K bike ride, and finishes with a 5K run.  I am pleased to say that we each finished the race, and did as well as we hoped for time.  Jenn finished 62nd out of 178 competitors at 1 hour 27 minutes, and I finished 8th out of 22 at 2 hours 14 minutes.  This was the first time either of us have competed in a duathlon or triathlon and it was a learning experience.  We have both done long distance running for many years, but the transition from running, to biking, and to swimming in Jenn’s case was an adjustment.

This whole experience has made reminded me of two important things we all should keep in mind as we go through life.  One, that goal setting is an important thing to keep us on track.  I believe it is important to be continuously setting new goals for ourselves to keep us better directed.  It is very easy to get off track in life.  This reminds me of a favorite traditional proverb of mine that says, “The road to success is lined with many tempting parking spaces.”  Secondly, it is important we are always pursuing new things.  This will help keep life a bit more interesting.  That doesn’t mean you need to do a triathlon (although that would be great), but what it does mean is that you should step outside of your comfort zone and do something that you never thought about doing before.  Sometimes this may take some hard work, and even a little courage, but the feeling of accomplishment you will get when you have met your goal is like nothing else.  Get out and enjoy all that life has to offer.

Recent studies have shown the United States to be ranked 12th out of the top 13 industialized countries in the world in overall health care.  However, we spend more money on health care in this country than the other 12 countries combined.  Is there something wrong with our approach?  Is what we are doing as a country for “health care” really working?  Is it really health care, or is it really “disease care”.  We continue to throw more and more money at our health care system, yet we are becoming sicker and sicker every year.  At some point this madness has to stop. 

At a recent talk I heard someone talk about how we have all grown up in this “box” of what we currently call health care.  Given that our current medical system is now the 3rd leading cause of death in this country and rising, isn’t it time to start thinking outside the box?  We need to begin to look for the solution not from another magical pill or potion, but from within.  We are all born with the worlds largest medicine cabinet within each one of us.  Our bodies own innate intelligence knows exactly what it needs to do get and stay healthy without any outside intervention.  Although our medical system is amazing for emergency situations, it is severely failing when it comes to our day to day health.  In chiropractic we claim to cure no disease in particular, rather we remove any interference to our bodies ability to function properly.  We do this through regular spinal adjustments to remove nervous system interference.  This an essential component to the health care of every man, women, and child on this planet.