Unnecessary Surgeries + The Watch Analogy
The Green Book Series

Today I want to apply some common sense, straight line thinking to a problem that is plaguing all “health care systems” worldwide, especially here in the United States.  That problem is unnecessary surgeries.   This has been an issue for over a century!  Dr. BJ Palmer, the world’s most pioneering chiropractor wrote about this for years.  Sadly, his warnings about this topic have fallen on deaf ears as the prevalence, cost and damage to patients done by unnecessary surgeries has skyrocketed!  Nevertheless, his words of wisdom are as prescient today as they were back then which is why I would like to share them with you today!

But first, let’s add some context to this discussion. 

This is an excerpt from the International journal of clinical practice in 2014:
“US health care expenditures per capita far exceeds that of ANY other nation in the WORLD.  Indeed, over the last 15 years, the USA has distantly surpassed most countries in the developed world in total healthcare expenditures per capita with the USA now spending over 17.4% of its gross domestic product on health care ($7960 per capita) compared with only 8.5% of GDP in Japan ($2878 per capita) a distant second.  Such spending growth rates are unsustainable, and the system would soon go broke if not corrected.  The drivers of these spending growth rates in US healthcare are several and varied.  In September of 2012, the Institute of Medicine reported that US healthcare squandered over $750 billion in 2009 through UNNEEDED care.” 

Now, with all that spending, surely we have the best outcomes right?..... WRONG, dead wrong in fact.  A 2022 report by The Common Wealth Fund revealed we rank 38^th in the world in life expectancy, which is LAST for all major developed nations, there are 3^rd world countries with higher life expectancies!  If that was not bad enough, did you know of all countries in 2020, The United States possessed the HIGHEST infant mortality rate which is markedly higher than Norway which was the top country in the world for having the lowest infant mortality rate.  This was reported in The American Journal of Managed Care in January of THIS year, 2023. 

This is from the Journal Patient Safety In Surgery in 2017
Title, “Why do surgeons continue to perform unnecessary surgery?”
Please listen very closely, what you are about to learn will likely be quite shocking..
“This unrecognized problem has escalated so far that medical errors currently rank as THE 3^RD leading cause of death in the United States. Strikingly, in the 21^st century, we still have to come to terms with the absurd reality that it is significantly safer to board a commercial airplane, a spacecraft, or a nuclear submarine, than to be admitted to a US hospital!”
Let me repeat, medical errors account for the 3^RD leading cause of death in the US, over 440,000 people die in the US per year!  Shouldn’t that be a headline on the news??  Keep in mind that data is from 2013, all indications suggest the current number of deaths caused by medical errors are EVEN higher!  Many of those deaths are due directly or are related to complications from unnecessary surgeries. 

What is unnecessary surgery?  They define it as follows: “Any surgical intervention that is either not needed, not indicated, or not in the patient’s best interest when weighted against other available options, including conservative measures.”  That last part is extremely important, they included conservative measures being something that should be done if it can benefit the patient over surgery.  Chiropractic is such a measure, which in many cases should be used first BEFORE resorting to surgery. 

Notice I said in many cases.  Of course, there ARE TRUE surgical emergencies and a number of conditions where surgery IS what SHOULD be done.  In these instances, surgery can be absolutely lifesaving and or life changing.  Thank god we have skilled surgeons & modern techniques for THOSE instances!  However, those true surgical cases are NOT our focus today.  Today’s focus is on unnecessary surgeries.

If you are wondering: Just how many surgeries are performed in the US, each year, the numbers are  staggering:
In the US there are 40-50 MILLION surgeries performed each year! According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 16% of all surgeries may be unnecessary: that would mean in the US there are between 6.4 and 8 MILLION unnecessary surgeries performed each year!

In 2020 In the US alone over 700,00 arthroscopic partial knee meniscectomies are performed every year.  Recently, a randomized, double-blind, sham controlled trial (highest level of evidence), revealed NO benefit for patients from the surgery at the 12 month follow up vs. those that did not have surgery. This study, The Finnish Degenerative Meniscal Lesion Study” certainly ruffled some feathers amongst the surgical community, however, sadly, meniscus surgery rates do not seem to have changed, at least not yet..”

So now you know how big of a deal unnecessary surgery is, especially in the United States!

Now lets dive into Dr. BJ Palmer’s thoughts on this, perhaps it may shift how you think about things moving forward.  The ideas and thoughts conveyed could have been written today!  Please keep in mind the following:  The writing style is not modern, I will add my own edits as it was written in 1917, in the book, The Science of Chiropractic.  Page 74, heading: “Sensible Suggestions”

“If you should let your watch fall,

To summarize: Our bodies are the most complex, self-regulating, self-monitoring, self-healing machines in the entire world.  We are made up of over 70 trillion cells, each individual cell is capable of 100,000 functions per second!  We cannot even comprehend that!  Call it what you want, Nature, God, Source, did not put anything in our body that it does not need.  And, no matter what a doctor tells you, no matter how often a particular surgery is performed, No surgery is routine.  Ever.  In some ways we ARE like a delicate time piece or classic watch, yet SO much more complex as a watch does not have the ability to self-heal!  So, when it comes to health challenges, make sure that Surgery is ALWAYS the last resort.  Are there times when it IS appropriate, Absolutely, just make sure you have done EVERYTHNIG possible to try and allow the body the time to heal on its own.  This is where Chiropractic comes in.  What most people do not know is this:

In the first 80 or so years after Chiropractic was discovered, it had nothing to do with back pain or neck pain. It was not until the modern insurance industry started covering chiropractic for back pain, neck pain and headaches, that many people began to think that that is what Chiropractic is for.  True Chiropractic focuses on one thing and one thing only.  If you have a health challenge that you are not overcoming, is there any interference to the body’s innate healing response which is limiting your recovery.  And often, that is indeed what is hindering a person’s healing response.  It really is that simple: Chiropractic’s ONLY job is to analyze, detect and correct vertebral subluxations which can directly interfere with the brain’s communication with the body and the body’s communication with the brain.  Virtually all people and ALL doctors recognize that your brain & nervous system control Everything.  Because the brain & nervous system control Everything, that includes ALL Healing.  The brain and body need to be in constant communication to be able to optimally monitor, regulate and repair any tissue, organ or gland.  Therefore, your spinal cord is literally your lifeline, serving as the superhighway connecting brain and body.  Vertebral subluxations, small misalignments of individual vertebral or regional displacements of the spine like forward head carriage increase tension on the spinal cord (TEXT NECK) causing interference between brain and body. Of all the stresses that can be applied to nerves, tension negatively affects nerve health the most!

This is why Chiropractic care should Always be considered for those with ANY health challenge!  It is really quite simple.  Chiropractic care is Not designed to fix or cure ANY single disease, rather it is a NON-invasive way to help the body perform better. Period.  This is why it CAN help with so many types of health challenges.  Now for the best part.  Especially for those that practice Corrective Chiropractic like we do at BTHC,:  Corrective chiropractic care is the most research supported chiropractic technique available and study after study confirms exactly what Dr. BJ Palmer proposed over 100 years ago.  Vertebral subluxations cause nervous system interference which can negatively affect organs, tissues and or glands.  

For you science geeks out there or medical professionals who want to learn more, a breakthrough study, out THIS Week in the Journal of Clinical Medicine is a great start:

Title: Does forward head posture influence Somatosensory Evoked Potentials and Somatorsensory Processing in Asymptomatic Young Adults?  In other words, does subluxation, even in a person without any symptoms, cause interference with their nervous system?  The Answer… YES, IT DOES! In short, this study demonstrates that regional subluxation in the cervical spine, as what occurs when the head is shifted forward, like in TEXT Neck, caused disturbances in key functions of the nervous system!

So, there you have it, a straight-line thinking approach to dealing with the topic of unnecessary surgery.  I hope you find this thought provoking.  Please share this episode especially with those dealing with unresolved health challenges!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5234149/

https://www.ajmc.com/view/us-has-highest-infant-maternal-mortality-rates-despite-the-most-health-care-spending

https://blog.gitnux.com/unnecessary-surgery-statistics/

I’m your host Dr. Marc Dupuis on this show we discuss tips, tools and strategies to improve the health & wellness of you and your family!

Today we are going to discuss a 2011 Case Series titled, Improvement in Autistic Behaviors Following Chiropractic Care.  This case series was published in the Journal Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, in December of 2011.

As many of you are all too well aware, the rate of Autism is rising at an extremely alarming rate.  In the United States, as of 2021, 1 in 44 children are being diagnosed with Autism!  In the 1990’s the rate was 2 out of 1000 children and in the 1980’s it was 10x’s less than that, just .1 - .4 children per 1000 were being  diagnosed with autism!  

We need all hands on deck to tackle this massive health issue.  Today’s discussion is NOT focused on the likely causes of this massive increase, rather I want to focus on a case series that showed improvement in autistic behaviors following chiropractic care.

As noted in the introduction in this paper, Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by abnormal social interactions and communication concurrent with repetitive behaviors and mannerisms.

From the paper’s Abstract, Methods & Outcomes sections:

Clinical Features: This case series involves two case studies.  Case one involves a 20-year old autistic male who displays aggressive behavior towards others.  Case two is a 17-year old autistic female who abuses herself. 

  Intervention and outcome: Both patients received a trial of chiropractic care for 5 and 4 months respectively with visit frequency of once per week.  Both patients responded favorably to chiropractic care with the male patient decreasing in aggressive behavior and the female patient decreasing in self-abuse and improved socialization. 

For the case involving the male, he attended a total of 20 chiropractic visits and was adjusted using a low force Activator adjusting tool.  He began showing signs of improvement after his 4th adjustment that involved being more co-operative, having a longer attention span and he even began to watch tv which he had not previously done.

For the case involving the female, she attended a total of 16 office visits and was adjusted using a combination of low force Activator tool adjustments and drop table adjustments.  She began to show signs of improvement after her third visit in the form of sleeping through the night, which was unusual and she demonstrated less self-abuse.   

Conclusions: Each had favorable results after undergoing chiropractic care.  This case series provides supporting evidence that individuals with autism may benefit from chiropractic care.  More research is warranted in this area. 

Now let's talk about the likely mechanisms behind chiropractic care and the results from this case series.  As we discussed recently in another neurodevelopmental disorder and chiropractic paper summary, the MAIN goal of chiropractic care is to improve brain-body, body-brain communication.  We do that by analyzing the spine for abnormally positioned or abnormally moving spinal segments, known as vertebral subluxations.  Vertebral subluxations are corrected by specific chiropractic adjustments. Because vertebral subluxations, by the stress caused to the surrounding spinal cord and nerve roots, cause nervous system interference, it should make sense that correcting vertebral subluxations reduces nervous system interference and therefore could help those suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders.  I will cover the more technical aspects of exactly how this works but first;

It is very important to note: people alway ask, does chiropractic cure this or can chiropractic fix so and so conditions?  The answer is no, chiropractic is designed to do one thing and one thing only: correct vertebral subluxations which enables the body to better do what it was designed to do!  Of course, by helping the body to better do what it is designed to do, this results in improved health & healing which explains why so many health challenges and perhaps why the two individuals with autism as described in this case series responded well to chiropractic care!  

Now, to get technical about how chiropractic care improves brain-body, body-brain communication.  The authors describe one likely mechanisms of action:

Recent research has demonstrated that spinal adjustments to vertebral subluxations can lead to neural plastic changes in the central nervous system (As demonstrated in the 2010 paper Haavik, Taylor, Holt, Murphy, Exploring the neuromodulatory effects of the vertebral subluxation and chiropractic care in the Chiropractic Journal of Australia).  Plastic changes in the brain can alter the way the brain synthesizes and releases neurotransmitters.  This may be significant as abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin have been found in individuals with ASD.  Serotonin has been shown to play a role in social and emotional behavior.  If chiropractic adjustments alter serotonin levels this may in turn cause changes in autistic behaviors.  

I will add one more paragraph that discusses another possible mechanism behind chiropractic care helping these two individuals.  This comes from the conclusion of the 2015 paper, Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Chiropractic: A Systematic Review of the Literature:

If we consider the new research that shows chiropractic adjustments having a direct effect on neural plasticity of the central nervous system (as demonstrated by the breakthrough research paper by Haavik-Taylor published in the journal Clinical Neurophysiology in February of 2007) and other research linking abnormal stimuli to plastic changes within the central nervous system along with the case studies herein which show associated benefits from chiropractic treatment with regards to neurodevelopmental disorders.  The mechanisms by which this could happen appears plausible. Further advances in neural plasticity research may yet reveal stronger connections to chiropractic treatment.

So as you can see, there are multiple mechanisms that may explain the positive results these two individuals with autism had following chiropractic care.  

Therefore, I want to wrap up today’s discussion with the following key takeaway.  

Chiropractic is a safe, drug-free approach to helping the body function better and should be considered for those individuals that have autism as part of a multidisciplinary approach to care. I hope you found this information helpful, please share this episode with anyone you feel may benefit from hearing it.

This concludes today’s episode of The Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast, where we discuss tips, tools & strategies to improve the health and wellness of you & your family!  Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you never miss a future episode, also PLEASE SHARE this podcast with ANYONE you feel may benefit from what we covered today.

Finally, Thank you very much for listening and until next time, have a Fantastic Day!

 Links

Improvement in Autistic Behaviors Following Chiropractic Care: A Case Series

Exploring the neuromodulatory effects of the vertebral subluxation and chiropractic care

Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Chiropractic: Literature Review

Today we are going to discuss a 2015 literature review, titled Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Chiropractic: A Systematic Review of the Literature.  This research review was published in the Journal Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, in March of 2015.

This topic is so important and timely since Neurodevelopmental disorders include some of the most challenging health issues facing children today, namely, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). 

The rates of ADD, ADHD and ASD are rising within the global population at an alarming rate, while treatments seem to be sadly lagging behind.  Therefore, any intervention, especially those that are non-invasive & safe that shows promise should be looked at closely.  Despite there being numerous pharmaceutical drugs on the market for these conditions, their results are mixed and side effects are often just as troubling as the conditions they are supposed to be addressing.  

The Summary or Abstract of the review is as follows:
The objective: To provide a comprehensive analysis of the current body of scientific literature regarding the chiropractic management of a wide variety of neurodevelopmental disorders.

The Methods of the Review: A literature search was performed using PubMed, MANTIS, the Index to Chiropractic Literature, McCoy Press, Galileo, and ScienceDirect. Inclusion criteria consisted of full-text peer-reviewed articles written in English as they related to the efficacy of chiropractic management of neurodevelopmental disorders.

The Results: 50 articles were selected.  The results were: 3 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), 7 Reviews of Literature, 3 Case Series, 34 Case Studies and 3 Survey/Commentaries.

The Conclusions: The majority of articles dealt specifically with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and were predominantly case studies. While we believe there is enough evidence to support the use of chiropractic with children who have been previously diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially ASD and ADD/ADHD, the chiropractic community should see this as a call to action to provide more research regarding neurodevelopmental disorders.

Given that RCTs (Randomized Controlled Trials) are the gold standard of research, the authors acknowledged that although 3 RCTs supporting Chiropractic care for neurodevelopmental disorders is a great start, we need to fund additional research projects to build upon these initial studies.  

Lets dive deeper into this research review.  Now, what does Chiropractic care have to do with neurodevelopmental disorders?  For those of you not familiar with HOW chiropractic actually works, the answer is quite simple.  The MAIN goal of chiropractic care is to improve brain-body, body-brain communication.  We do that by analyzing the spine for abnormally positioned or abnormally moving spinal segments, known as vertebral subluxations.  Vertebral subluxations are corrected by specific chiropractic adjustments. Because vertebral subluxations, by the stress caused to the surrounding spinal cord and nerve roots, cause nervous system interference, it should make sense that correcting vertebral subluxations reduces nervous system interference and therefore could help those suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders.   

It is important to note: people alway ask, does chiropractic cure this or fix so and so conditions?  The answer is no, chiropractic’s purpose is Not to treat specific diseases, rather chiropractic’s purpose is to do one thing and one thing only: correct vertebral subluxations which enables the body to better do what it was designed to do!  Of course, by helping the body to better do what it is designed to do, this results in improved health & healing which explains why so many health challenges have responded to chiropractic care!  Getting back to this literature review the authors point out;

“With rising incidences of various neurodevelopmental disorders, the likelihood of healthcare professionals encountering them as a presenting complaint in their clinics is just as likely to rise.  With chiropractors serving as portal of entry providers, it is also therefore likely that the practicing chiropractor will encounter such patients.   It is therefore important to understand the possible relationship between chiropractic care and neurodevelopmental disorders.

The evidence presented within this literature review aims to demonstrate the plausibility of chiropractic care as an appropriate healthcare service utilized for neurodevelopmental disorders.  Services provided include spinal adjustments focused on the correction of vertebral subluxation, improvement in joint function, reduction of pain, increased quality of life and levels of independence, as well as management of dizziness, proprioceptive and/or vestibular complaints, and possibly more.”

Some of the key takeaways from the expanded conclusion section of this review are as follows:
If we consider the new research that shows chiropractic adjustments having a direct effect on neural plasticity of the central nervous system (as demonstrated by the breakthrough research paper by Haavik-Taylor published in the journal Clinical Neurophysiology in February of 2007) and other research linking abnormal stimuli to plastic changes within the central nervous system along with the case studies herein which show associated benefits from chiropractic treatment with regards to neurodevelopmental disorders.  The mechanisms by which this could happen appears plausible. Further advances in neural plasticity research may yet reveal stronger connections to chiropractic treatment.

Considering the goal of a subluxation based chiropractor to treat the vertebral subluxation complex, its safety with regards to children based on the Council on Chiropractic Practice Guidelines, and not treating neurodevelopmental disorders specifically, along with the results shown herein regards to the available case files, we believe there is enough evidence to support the use of chiropractic treatments on children who have been previously diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially ASD and ADD/ADHD.  We suggest a conservative treatment approach that would focus specifically on diagnosed subluxations within the vertebral column and co-management with other medical professionals to better objectively quantify any changes that may manifest in the presentation of the patient’s neurodevelopmental disorders, which would then add additional strength to the case for future considerations into publication as a case file.”

So there you have it, my summary of the paper, “Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Chiropractic: A Systematic Review of the Literature”

I hope this explains how chiropractic care may help those that are dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially ADD, ADHD and ASD. 

My final point today: Chiropractic care should be considered for those individuals that are dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders.  Research supports co-management of these complex cases including other medical providers.

I hope you found this information helpful, please share this episode with anyone you feel may benefit from hearing it.

This concludes today’s episode of The Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast, where we discuss tips, tools & strategies to improve the health and wellness of you & your family!  Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you never miss a future episode, also PLEASE SHARE this podcast with ANYONE you feel may benefit from what we covered today.

Finally, Thank you very much for listening and until next time, have a Fantastic Day!

 Links

Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Chiropractic: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Cervical spine manipulation alters sensorimotor integration: a somatosensory evoked potential study

Welcome to the Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast

I’m your host, Dr. Marc Dupuis

On Today’s episode we bring in a special guest: Our very own Dr. Nikki Holt to discuss an issue that many pregnant women have to deal with, Morning Sickness.  We discuss natural methods & strategies that may help!

links:

Real food for pregnancy by Lily Nichols

Real food for gestational diabetes by Lily Nichols

If you enjoyed today’s show, please leave us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts and hit the subscribe button so that you never miss a future episode!  

Thank you very much for listening & have a great day!

Dr. Susan Wadia-Ells is a long-time cultural change agent. During the 1970’s she organized women at Polaroid, creating the first affirmative action program for women within a Fortune 200 corporation, and soon became Polaroid’s corporate affirmative action manager and a mentor to other women’s groups  fighting for equal pay, training, benefits, and career opportunities.

After returning to academia in the early 1980’s for a graduate degree in energy economics and political development at The Fletcher School, Dr. Wadia-Ells worked with community development groups in Zimbabwe as that nation’s long struggle against apartheid ended. Next, she operated as a small town journalist in Brattleboro VT, under the guidance of the legendary UPI International Editor, Norman Runnion. Wadia-Ells then moved on to complete her PhD in women’s studies, before teaching over the next decade in Lesley University’s Adult Baccalaureate Program in Boston—helping women learn to fearlessly write their unspoken ideas and life stories. During this time, while raising her son, she also created national feminist conferences on once-ignored or banned topics including the landmark Women’s Ways of Knowing Study—exploring the personal growth dimensions within motherhood, and understanding the power of women’s menopausal years.

Her 1995 anthology, The Adoption Reader: Birth Mothers, Adoptive Mothers and Adopted Daughters Tell Their Stories (Seal Press, Seattle), helped define adoption as primarily a woman’s issue. Wadia-Ells’ column, “Honest Health”, published by the Gloucester Daily Times (MA), beginning in 2008, her long-time Busting Breast Cancer blog, and her 2013 e-book, Birth Control Drugs and Breast Cancer: Learn the Terrible Truth, all served to introduce many of the topics discussed in her 2019 book, Busting Breast Cancer: Five Simple Steps to Keep Breast Cancer out of Your Body, based on the new metabolic theory of cancer. She currently lives in Manchester by the Sea, MA.

Dr. Susan Wadia-Ells, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for taking time to be with us today.  Your new book, Busting Breast Cancer five simple steps to keep breast cancer out of your body is an absolute MUST read for not just for all women but really all men so that they can support and encourage the women in their lives to be as healthy as they can! 

I want to begin by asking what inspired you to dedicate so much time in the research and development of this book?

As we begin, I just want to mention some pretty scary statistics. In the United States alone, it is estimated that there will be about 280,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2021 and an additional 50,000 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ!  

With so many new cases each and every year the amount of fear these statistics generate in our women is staggering.  This is why your book is needed more now than ever before.  It really should serve as a beacon of HOPE because you present research supported ways for women to REDUCE their risk of break cancer….BUT many of the things they should do, will make them challenge much of what they have been told by mainstream media and the modern medical industry, including many of their doctors.  Can you speak to this challenge for women?

Let’s go right after the Elephant in the room.  All too often, as you clearly report in the book, when women are diagnosed with cancer, rarely, if ever do they get an actual scientifically supported reason WHY they developed cancer.  This bad luck, as some women are told, is one of the drivers of the fear surrounding this epidemic as women are left wondering, since no one seems to know what causes it, will I be next??  

However, what most people don’t know, including many healthcare providers, is the absolute game changing research of Thomas Seyfried and his Metabolic Theory of Cancer, which for the first time in history describes the most likely CAUSE of breast cancer!  Can you summarize what he found and the importance of this discovery?

Here’s the rub, we have groundbreaking scientific research that if applied could dramatically reduce new cancers from developing and possibly save 10’s of 1000’s of lives by helping cancer patients overcome this disease, but it is pitted against a billion dollar cancer treatment industry that is predicated upon highly profitable exam procedures, surgeries, chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments.  Can you share with our listeners the almost jubilant tone of some of these pharmaceutical companies in their annual reports as they project year over year record increases in sales of their cancer drugs?

I would love to briefly touch on some of the simple steps for women to take that you outline in your book.

Can you give a summary on why getting to a healthy body weight is so important?

This next topic was an eye opener.  Progestin containing birth control.  Can you share for our listeners the SIGNIFICANT difference between naturally occurring progesterone and the synthetic progestin?

Can you touch on the significance of, I believe it was in 2010, the study that focused on progestin?

Why was it not picked up by major media outlets?

The next topic will be sure to rattle many feathers.  Virtually all women have been told the importance of getting yearly mammograms, once they turn 40.  If we were to ask any group of women, if there are any downsides to getting this procedure, I would bet most would say there ARE NO downsides.  But like all medical treatments, there are both pro’s and con’s to consider.  Can you share just a few things that women should know about mammograms?

What about Thermography as an alternative?    

Let's talk about statistics for a moment.  One thing I learned in your book that was really concerning is this: The state cancer boards are required to collect data on newly diagnosed breast cancers as well as recurrent metastatic breast tumors but they are not obligated to share that data with the public.  Why the seemingly secrecy behind this data?         

I would be remiss if I did not ask you a few questions about the industry and some of the major players.  You are not afraid to call out some of the big organizations for actions that do not really seem to support the optimization of womens’ health.  Can you touch on some of the issues regarding the American Cancer Society, the Susan B. Komen Organization?

Can you explain to our listener’s who was behind the pink ribbon and Breast Cancer Awareness Month and how much has this organization actually spent toward PREVENTION?? 

WOW, Well thank you for everything you have shared with us so far.  I highly encourage everyone listening to please pick up a copy of Dr. Susan’s book and read it to learn much much more!

In addition to your book, which we will have a link to in our show notes, are there any other resources that you would recommend to our listeners to learn more about some of the things we talked about today?

As we get ready to wrap up, I have two final questions:

Do you have any final words of wisdom for our listeners and HOW can we CONNECT WITH YOU?

Links

Dr. Susan’s Website
https://www.bustingbreastcancer.com/

Dr. Susan’s email address
susan@bustingbreastcancer.com

Science Daily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/

Dr. Thomas SeyFried’s Book
Cancer as a Metabolic Disease

Other Books
Keto for Cancer

The Metabolic Approach to Cancer

Tripping Over the Truth: How the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Is Overturning One of Medicine's Most Entrenched Paradigms

The Secret History of the War on Cancer

The Ketogenic Kitchen: Low carb. High fat. Extraordinary Health

This concludes today’s episode of The Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast, where we discuss tips, tools & strategies to improve the health and wellness of you & your family!  Please SUBSCRIBE to this podcast so that you never miss a future episode, also PLEASE SHARE this podcast with ANYONE you feel may benefit from what we covered today.

Thank you very much for listening and until next time, have a GREAT Day!

In this episode we discuss the COVID-19 PCR test.  We cover how this test actually works and also discuss the limitations of this test.  

“Treat the Patient, not the infection” Cellular Theory vs. Germ Theory

Welcome to the Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast

I’m your host, Dr. Marc Dupuis

Today I want to share a recent blog post that stirred up quite a bit of attention.  The core of today’s discussion involves a critical look at long held belief, championed by French biologist, Louis Pasteur that germs cause disease and that the condition of the body or host does not play any role.  Louis Pasteur’s biggest rival was French scientist Antoine Bechamp.  Antoine Bechamp is responsible for our title quote, “treat the patient, not the infection”.  He believed that the way to prevent disease was to build up the health of the host’s body (or terrain as he called it) through proper diet, hygiene and healthy lifestyle habits. He saw the host’s body as terrain,

Ultimately, Pasteur’s ideas were accepted by society and really led to our modern western medical system that is based on antibiotics, drugs and vaccinations while Bechamp’s ideas were mostly forgotten.  What most people do not know and is quite ironic is this: At the end of his life Pasteur renounced his own germ theory and admitted that Bechamp was right all along.  In fact, Louis Pasteur’s last words were “The microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything”.

Now on to the quote that our blog post began with:   

“If the Germ theory were true, no one would be alive to believe it!” This quote by Dr. BJ Palmer may sound silly to many educated people, however, for those with the most up to date, researched based education on the human immune system, it actually makes a lot of sense. Think about it: As of May 1, 2020, the COVID-19 virus has been attributed to 235,000 deaths worldwide.

There are approximately 3,337,000 confirmed cases worldwide. There are  2,047,000 active cases world-wide, 98% of those infected have mild symptoms while 2% are in serious or critical condition.  Over 1,054,000 have fully recovered from COVID-19. New research shows that there are likely 50x more people that have had it but have never been tested since the majority of people infected (~80%) will have mild symptoms and a majority of them will not even require ANY medical intervention, therefore they are not being tested and thus are not being counted. So, if the majority of those who have recovered required little to no medical attention, what is the difference between those that have died and those that survived? It’s the same virus that infected both serious and mild cases. The difference has to be in the condition of the HOST, not the virus itself!

Here is a simple but accurate analogy. Think of the body as a mansion. Now think of two mansions on the same street. The first one has not been well maintained. It has large cracks in the foundation, there are holes in the siding, the roof is in disrepair and is leaking. The garbage has never been taken out, so the basement is filled with countless bags of it rotting away. The homeowners left the pantry with boxes and bags of junk food half open and spilled out onto shelves and ground.

The second mansion has been well maintained. The foundation does not have any damage, the exterior siding is air-tight and has an extra layer of insulation. The roof is intact and does not leak. There is no garbage left in the house. The homeowners have kept the pantry clean, all foodstuffs are kept in sealed containers.

Which mansion do you expect to eventually become overrun (infected) with rats? Of course, the first mansion. The first mansion has all of the ingredients needed for rats to thrive in it! The problem with the first mansion is not the existence of rats. Rats have been around long before the mansions were built. The problem is the first mansion has become the perfect host for rats. The owners of the first mansion can pay exterminators to kill off the rats, but if they do not fix the cracks in the foundation, patch the holes in the siding and roof and if they do not get rid of the garbage, clean and secure the food in the pantry…. The rats will come back! That is not hard to understand.

This is how it works with the human body. When not properly cared for it can become a suitable host for pathogens like bacteria and VIRUSES to cause damage. The problem is not the bacteria or virus itself. The problem is with the person’s body has become a suitable host.

If you are still stuck on the belief that the problem is the virus or bacteria think about this: The human body is made up of about 70 trillion cells. Did you know that we have 10x the amount of bacteria on us and IN us! What is even more interesting, is that a plethora of research has shown that many of those bacteria species live symbiotically in us, promoting numerous factors of health for the human host. The complete collection of bacteria that live on & in us is considered our microbiome. When a person has a wide variety of beneficial bacteria, those helpful bacteria can keep more dangerous bacteria populations in check. It is true that each and everyone of us, have countless species of bacteria in us & on us every single day that are capable of causing disease but are kept in check by both the action of friendly bacteria and actions of our immune system.

Now for the kicker: Did you know that in reference to our 70 trillion cells, we have an estimated 100X the amount of…….VIRUSES in & on us! The total of all of the viruses in & on us is considered our virome! And, just like our microbiome, it appears that a number of these viruses are also contributing to our overall health! This is a rapidly emerging area of science (a search on pubmed.gov for human virome yields 588 results vs. a search for human microbiome that yields 62,037 results!) but as of now it appears that the virome is likely to behave similarly to that of our microbiome. The majority of the viruses that make up our virome are symbiotic in nature however some of them are likely to be capable of causing disease but only if they get out of balance with regards to the friendly viruses & our immune system.

Now you should be able to understand the main fault in the overly simplistic germ theory of disease that Dr. BJ Palmer and many other top scientists pointed out over 100 years ago. The problem is not the germ, the problem is with the host!

So, simply relying on just wearing a mask & gloves to keep you safe from this virus or any future pathogens without taking the steps to improve the overall integrity of your body is a short-sighted plan that will likely lead to a false sense of security. Doing so is no different than covering up the second broken down mansion with a tarp and hoping that will keep the rats out!

Here are some action steps you can take to shore up your mansion’s (body’s) defenses.

1. Sleep 8 hours per night (for adults, children 9-10 hours per night)
2. Exercise regularly
3. Have your spine regularly checked for subluxation (fixed spinal joints) and get adjusted as needed to remove subluxations. This is engineering 101. Structure determines function. If there are structural imbalances in your spine, it will result in abnormal body function.
4. Reduce the intake of processed flour (nutrient dead food) and especially processed sugar. Processed sugar is inflammatory in nature (medical folks: think of the impact on the cytokine storm!) and is an immunosuppressant.
5. Increase the intake of non-GMO/Organic vegetables, particularly those high in vitamins A & C (liver, sweet potato, carrots, spinach, broccoli, red pepper, cauliflower, kale, yellow pepper). Most people know about the immune supporting actions of vitamin C, however, vitamin A is just as important, in fact, it Is critical in the building of a sound epithelium, which is like the siding on the mansion!
6. Optimize your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D directly influences immune system function!
7. Each day take action to manage STRESS. This can be done in just 10-15 minutes per day but is so very important since unchecked stress can lead to adrenal fatigue which can significantly suppress your immune system. Some examples of ways to do so: Breath work, prayer and meditation.

So there you have it. Take the steps recommended by state & federal officials to stay safe and TAKE ACTION to build up your body and your body’s defenses so that you will NOT be a suitable host for this virus or any other pathogen! 207-324-7098

 You can find relevant links to things we discussed today on our show notes page at www.backtohealthchiropracticpodcast.com

If you can, please rate & review us on Apple Podcasts, that can help us tremendously by staying relevant and well placed in search results.  

Thank you very much for listening & have a great day!

  links:

Pubmed.gov Search for Human Virome

Pubmed.gov Search for Human Microbiome

Book: Bechamp or Pasteur? A Lost Chapter In The History of Biology

Welcome to the Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast

I’m your host Dr. Marc Dupuis on this show we discuss tips, tools and strategies to improve the health & wellness of you and your family!

Today I’m Excited to bring you our featured guest:

Dr. Gilles LaMarche

Dr. Gilles Lamarche is a passionate chiropractor who has practiced for more than 25 years in Northern Ontario, Canada. He is an avid student of the psychology and philosophy of success. He has spoken to audiences throughout Canada, United States, Mexico, Japan, Scandinavia, Australia, Europe and the Caribbean. He is the author and co-author of more than nine books including Say Yes to Chiropractic Success and the Parker System for Professional Success. Dr. Gilles was named Canadian Chiropractor of the Year in 2006 by the readers of Canadian Chiropractor Magazine. He is currently the Vice President of University Advancement at Life University in Marietta Georgia

Dr. Gilles, welcome to the show.

Dr. Gilles thank you so much for joining us today!

First and foremost, would you mind telling our listeners a little more about you as a person and especially about how you ended up on the road to becoming a chiropractor?

In doing my research for today’s conversation I learned that not only did chiropractic care save you from a lifetime of pain after suffering that injury as a child, chiropractic saved you again this time after being told as an adult that you only had 24 months to live!  Can you share with our listeners the details of this exceptionally powerful story?

These stories highlight such an important point.  Yes, chiropractic care can be very helpful for those with back pain and neck pain but really, chiropractic care is about so much more than just pain management.  Can you take a moment and elaborate on this for our listeners?

You speak to people all over the world, in addition to thinking that chiropractic care is only for neck pain and low back pain are there any other common misconceptions that people have about Chiropractic care?

Switching gears now, would you talk about your current role at Life University, what led you to take on such a position and for those unfamiliar with Life University, can you tell our listeners a little bit about this great institution?

How does Life University differ from some of the other Chiropractic Colleges?

In addition to your own books that you have written, which we will have links to in our show notes page, do you have additional any resources that you would recommend to our listeners, this could be a book, podcast, seminar etc?

How can listeners connect or follow you: Social media, websites, email etc.,

Lastly, Dr. Gilles, do you have any final words    of wisdom for our listeners?

Dr. Gilles, Thank you so much taking the time out of your busy schedule and for coming on the show today!

links:

Dr.Gilles on Facebook

Life University

The Art of Responsibility

Dr. BJ Palmer's Green Books

LiveVision Seminars

The Rubicon Group

Dr. Joe Dispenza

Monica Greco BA, MA, PhD

Welcome to the Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast

I’m your host Dr. Marc Dupuis on this show we discuss tips, tools and strategies to improve the health & wellness of you and your family!

Today I’m Excited to bring you our featured guest:

Dr. Dan Sullivan

Dr. Dan Sullivan is a chiropractor, speaker, author, and one of the most sought after health experts in the United States.  Dr. Sullivan’s passion for health care revolution took root in a childhood shared with seven brothers and sisters, two of whom have  since become medical doctors. Dr. Dan demanded an understanding of the cause of diseases that entered homes just like his and a world that profits from the treatment of symptoms that maintain an endless cycle of sickness. Dr. Sullivan’s journey and research produced an undeniable truth: the medical model of health care needed to change. The power of a chiropractic adjustment forms the foundation for reforming a hopeless, drug-stricken pathogenic system into a true health and salutogenic-care model founded in vitalistic principles

His search for truth led him through  Doctoral School in Minnesota and advanced chiropractic training.  Dr. Dan went on to build one of the largest single-doctor natural healthcare clinics in the state of Nebraska. Dr. Dan expanded his pursuit to the world of  research and education in 2012, speaking to students, doctors, and the public while serving as an Official Chiropractor for the United States Wrestling team during the 2012 London Olympics.

Dr. Dan, welcome to the show.

Dr. Dan thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us!

First and foremost, would you mind telling our listeners a little more about you as a person and especially about how you ended up on the road to becoming a chiropractor?

You are an expert on the science behind the power of the chiropractic adjustment and its effect on optimizing human health.  One of the major factors that separates you from other researchers is your excellent ability to explain such findings in an easy to understand manner for patients, community members and especially to other doctors who quite frankly have not been trained in this subject matter.  

Can you please take a moment to explain to our listeners just what is a subluxation and how it affects our human health?

One question that often come up from so many people after learning about the devastating effects of subluxation is this: how come I have never heard subluxation?  I think that question leads us into a very important issue. Our modern healthcare system, based primarily on the treatment of symptoms through drugs and surgery, is not the answer to improved health and healing. It really should be called sickness care and it is based upon a mechanistic philosophy.  Now, a true healthcare system based on healing and the optimization of health like Chiropractic is based upon Vitalistic philosophy. Can you expand on this issue for our listeners?

You speak to people all over the world, what are some of the biggest misconceptions that people have about Chiropractic care?

Do you have any resources that you would recommend to our listeners, this could be a book, podcast, seminar etc?

How can listeners connect or follow you: Social media, websites, email etc.,

Lastly, Dr. Dan, do you have any final words of wisdom for our listeners?

Dr. Dan, Thank you so much taking the time out of your busy schedule and for coming on the show today!

links:

Dr. Dan Sullivan’s website
The Chiropractic Advocate.com/

Dr. Dan Sullivan on Facebook
Chiropractic's Certainty Advocate I Dr. Dan Sullivan - Home | Facebook

BTHCP 021: Getting To The CAUSE Of Heart Disease With The Paleo Cardiologist & Amazon #1 Best Seller, Dr. Jack Wolfson

Welcome to the Back to Health Chiropractic Podcast

I’m your host Dr. Marc Dupuis on this show we discuss tips, tools and strategies to improve the health & wellness of you and your family!

Today I’m Excited to bring you our featured guest:

Dr. Jack Wolfson

Dr. Jack Wolfson is a board-certified cardiologist and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He has emerged as one of the world’s leading holistic natural cardiologists, and was a Natural Choice Award Winner in the Holistic MD category from Natural Awakenings Magazine. His ideas have been featured by NBC and CNN and covered in publications like the USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

Prior to opening Wolfson Integrative Cardiology, Dr. Jack was Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at Paradise Valley Hospital in Arizona. He was also a partner in Arizona’s largest cardiology practice.

As a trusted leader in heart health and natural heart health, Dr. Jack has taught more than 10,000 physicians his natural heart health best practices. His book, The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health, was an Amazon # 1 best seller. He is an in-demand lecturer about natural healthy living without Big Pharma pills and invasive procedures.

Dr. Jack, welcome to the show.

I am so happy to have you on the show today because the information you teach not only to patients and the public at large but to doctors is desperately needed; more so than ever before as the number one killer in the US is and continues to be: heart disease, despite all of our medical interventions and countless prescription drugs!  

But first; Would you mind telling our listeners a little more about you as a person and especially about how you ended up on the road to becoming an interventional cardiologist and then a holistic cardiologist?

In your book you reference the following quote from Upton Sinclair “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

I think that quote perfectly explains one of the biggest challenges in our country’s “health care” system that is largely driven by pharmaceutical companies & medical device companies that spend upwards of 300 BILLION dollars per year to brainwash us & brainwash many doctors into believing that all we need to improve health is better chemistry, in the form of more prescription drugs & devices and in fact they have a pill for every ill and this system rewards doctors not for getting patients well, but for prescribing more drugs & medical devices and performing more procedures.

How much resistance did you encounter from your cardiology colleagues when you began to have success treating patients with natural supplements, dietary modification and lifestyle advice?

Let’s jump into some topics that are sure to make some of our listeners heads spin!

First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room right from the get-go: Cholesterol is not the bad guy that people have been taught to believe is it?  Could you expand on this for our listeners?

Now that we know just how important Cholesterol is, how on earth did we get to our current situation where most doctors and patients still believe it is so bad, is it mainly a by-product of bad science spearheaded by Ancel Keys in the 1950’s, combined with the fact that modern medical education contains virtually no study of nutrition or are there other forces behind this?

Let us now jump into perhaps an equally controversial topic: Diet.  Grandma was right all along when she said, “You are what you eat” Most of us grew up learning about the standard food pyramid that suggest we eat 4-5 servings of whole grains every day.  What are the biggest problems that can result from consuming so much grain?

You make an excellent case that when you actually study the physiology of the human body and use actual lab tests when adjusting the diets of patients, eating a Paleo diet is one of the best things we can do for our health.  Can you outline for our listeners what exactly is a Paleo diet and also just as important, what are some of the biggest misconceptions about the Paleo diet?

Let’s shift to a topic that is of course near and dear to my heart, Chiropractic!  Can you explain to our listeners how chiropractic care can help prevent and treat heart disease?

In addition to eating a Paleo diet and maintaining spinal health through chiropractic care, what are a few other top things that people should do to improve their heart health?

Switching gears once again, let’s talk for a moment about supplements.  What are the top two or three most important supplements that can help optimize heart health?

Dr. Jack, As we get ready to wrap things up, do you have any last words of wisdom or asks of our audience?

Last but no least, How can listeners connect or follow you: Social media, websites, etc.

I will put links to each of the resources that Dr. Jack mentioned as well as links to the ways to follow/connect with him & a link to his Amazon Best Selling Book, The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health on our show notes page at www.backtohealthchiropracticpodcast.com

Dr. Jack, Thank you so much taking the time out of your busy schedule and for bringing so much value to our show today!

links:

The Drs. Wolfson's Website

Dr. Jack’s Amazon Best Selling Book: The Paleo Cardiologist: The Natural Way to Heart Health,

Dr. Jack’s Podcast, “The Healthy Heart Show”

Dr. Jack on Facebook

Dr. Jack on Instagram

Purity Organic Coffee, use code “wolfson” to get 30% off your first order

Weston A Price’s Landmark Study on Nutrition and Disease

Organic Beetroot Powder

http://www.californiajam.org/

Berberine

A Podcast Channel of Back to Health Chiropractic PC

www.backtohealthchiropracticpodcast.com

www.bthconline.com