We have a genetic requirement to eat well.  The further we move away from this genetic requirement, the closer we move toward disease.  The quality of our health and the quality of our foods are directly proportional.  Tomas Edison said “Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food”.  

We had friends over for dinner a short while ago.  It came up in conversation that apparently, we should be eating a MINIMUM of 35-40 different plants per week.  

I was shocked at first, I thought of my go to salads and side dishes which are often repetitive in nature.  Creatures of habit right?

Then,  I realized that our dinner alone was made up of 18 plants.  Yes, this was an ambitious dinner with some crazy good accoutrements.  But, really, why can’t we focus on meals like this a bit more.  Meals with variety are more inspiring, they keep us creative and they’re certainly tastier. 

For those of you who feel it’s not your jam to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen.  If spending a lot of t...

Over the past year, our kids have largely been “removed” from their lives.  Although we’re grateful for the slow pace and the one on one time, there is great concern over the impact that this year at home has had on the brain development of our kids.

Our neurodevelopment depends on critical windows of time in which certain life experiences will act as a trigger for brain maturation.  We are genetically designed to express appropriate brain development in response to specific interactions with our environment.  These critical windows exist in age specific clusters from birth until our early to mid twenties.

HOW we experience our world in the first two decades shapes our neurological outcomes.  Epigenetics teaches us that we have specific genes responsible for healthy development, BUT, these genes can remain dormant in the absence of specific cues.  Missed critical windows will affect how we perceive our environment and how we interact with our world both physically and emotionally.  

I’m not sure if it’s because we’re more distracted than ever or that the sun’s out a tad more lately and we don’t know what to do with ourselves, but in our office over the past two weeks, we’ve seen significantly more car accident injuries.

Whiplash may not be the sexiest of topics BUT, once we read on, we get a glimpse of how if we’ve ever suffered a whiplash and it wasn’t handled completely, we may still be suffering, even if we’re no longer in pain.

What we don’t hear is that whiplash injuries mimic concussion and concussions mimic whiplash injuries.

Whiplash will occur, not just when we’re hit from behind, but when we’re hit from any direction.  Whiplash injuries can also come as a result of falling on our bottoms or falling forward.  I, personally have been in a handful of car accidents (my lead foot takes “most” of the blame). By far,  the worst whiplash I’ve ever suffered was from a ski fall which probably looked quite benign, and happened only 50 feet from the ski lodge.  

No matter how we spin it, the primary cause of disease is a failure to adapt to our lifestyle and environmental stressors.  

We’re made for adaptation but often, our physical, chemical, emotional and electromagnetic stresses can overwhelm our ability to keep up with our adaptation needs and our nervous systems begin to malfunction. (Chiropractic care is so important because it helps with adaptation).  

We do, however have to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves when it comes to what toxins and stressors we allow ourselves to be exposed to.  Epigenetics experts have found that 80% of us have chronic disease, specifically because of our lifestyle choices.

Being that we’re surrounded by toxic choices, being intentional about the toxins we avoid to empower us to trust in our innate propensity to heal and thrive.  This is a much more certain option than helplessly feeling at the mercy of the Russian roulette of what happens once we can no longer adapt.

The chemicals we ingest, the ...

Here in Longview, WA, our middle and high school students are presently (literally as I write this), sitting on their beds, or at the kitchen table, or on the couch, with their backs rounded, and their heads forward.

We hear of, and speak of the detrimental emotional and psychosocial ramifications this is having on our children but we don’t hear much about the weight (pun intended) this places on their posture.  Here is the shocking truth between posture and learning.

Posture is the window to the spine.  Being that the spine houses the spinal cord, our posture determines the level of function between brain and everything it connects to, including every organ, tissue and cell.  

Over the past year, we’ve been given ample information on how to retract, isolate and sanitize.  Our coaching has been entirely focused on the defensive part of the game…all while ignoring the qualities and importance of our offense.

Before Covid 19, the CDC reported that 1 in 6 children in the United States...

I know all of you beautiful women who predict your headaches around your cycle.  I know those of you who just have them everyday and you’ve convinced yourselves that this is just a part of your lives.  I know that you’re exhausted because of them and that they worry you.

I know all of you men who try to ignore your headaches because, well, headaches have no place in your busy lives.  Yes…maybe your patience is affected or maybe you feel frustrated but there’s nothing you can do.

I know all of you kids and teenagers who’ve had headaches since you can remember and laying on your beds in the quiet darkness is just part of your routine.  

Headaches may be extremely common but that doesn’t make them normal.  

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 47% of the adult population has experienced headaches in the past year.  If you suffer from headaches, you might plan your life around the mercy of their next headache.  

After 20 years of working in this field, what I absol...