Dr. Adam Baumgardner

Cramps, Spasms and Electrolytes

As a chiropractor I’m dealing with spasm all the time. A lot of the time it is because of a dysfunctional joint. That said though we can do a lot to help our muscles relax while we heal. The adjustment will help it relax, but what you do at home can be the difference between seeing me 1-3 times or many times for the same problem. If the muscles are more likely to spasm then the joint is likely to lock up again and you end up back in my office.

While it may sound obvious because everyone knows to eat a banana if you have a cramp there is a little more too it. You would need to eat 10 bananas to get the 4 grams of potassium you need in a day. This isn’t our only electrolyte either.

There are lots of lists of potassium rich foods. Here is one. Try to get in that 3-4 grams a day. Don’t forget to salt your food. Sodium and chloride are electrolytes to!

Magnesium is often not in the foods we eat in the levels we think. Pesticides prevent the uptake from soil that is often depleted already. If your muscles spasm when you rest or things are tighter in the morning this electrolyte could be running on empty in your body.

I always prefer to get nutrients from food when I can. If there is one I often suggest to people to supplement it is magnesium.

Special considerations

Exercising a lot: Try putting some of this in your water. It will compensate for what you loose and has no sugar in it. Doesn’t taste great, but if you need it you won’t notice as much.

Low Carb Diet (any of them): You will need more salt in your food and you will dump potassium at first. Plus if you notice the potassium rich foods aren’t low carb… That said Pills don’t do it because they don’t have enough in them. We carry a this powder at the office you can get. Bonus, it has some magnesium in it to.

Cramps even though you have plenty of electrolytes: You could have a PH problem that is preventing the use of the electrolytes you have. Try taking 2 table spoons of Apple Cider Vinegar in 10 ounces of water in the morning. This has also been shown to help with weight loss!

5 for Health and Holidays

As we head into this Holiday Season there are a few tips I would give you for your health. Most of them are geared to helping you eat healthier and keeping stress under control. These two things getting out of control lead to depressed immune systems and “Flu Season.”

  1. Keep hydrated. Sip water every 5 minutes all day long. This will help two things. It will help you feel better in general and it will keep you from being overly hungry and binge eating on foods that aren’t great for you.
  2. Have healthy snacks on hand. Nuts are great. Protein shakes, cut up veggies and dips (like Hummus), and berries are also going to be much healthier options than the other stuff that will be convenient.
  3. Start the day with lots of protein. This has been found to keep hunger cravings in check in children and adults.
  4. Plan your meals that won’t be as healthy. It is better to say “I am going to eat my foods at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but then go back to my diet” than say “I’m going to stick to my diet as best I can” and then fall off at the Holiday. In the latter you have failed and aren’t as likely to get back on the healthy horse.
  5. Do your stress relieving activities without fail. Meditate in the morning and as you go to sleep. Keep your house clean. Read from the best books. BREATH! You can also come in and laser. 😉

Two Tests For Health

People often think that they have to spend a lot of money on tests.

This can be true. THYROID testing can be a couple hundred dollars. The advanced FOOD SENSITIVITIES tests can be the same. Just to test inflammation markers to make sure you haven’t STRESSED YOUR BODY out can be $150. There are two tests I like that won’t cost you more than a one time < $100 purchase and you can do them every day!

The first is a Basal Metabolic Temp test. You will need a $10 shake out kind of Thermometer from Walgreens or Amazon. it is easy to do:

More accurate
Use this for BMT
  • Shake out the thermometer the night before and put it by your bed.
  • When you wake up in the morning don’t even sit up.
  • Reach over turn off your alarm and pick up the thermometer.
  • Put it in your mouth under your tongue for 3 minutes.
  • Write down your temp.

Why do this? Because it shows how well your body is doing… especially your THYROID. If it is in the 97.6-98.6 range you are doing great. 97-97.6 you are doing ok. Less than 97? You need to figure out why your body is stressed and fix it. Not sure where to start? We can talk about that, but the added bonus of the test is that as you make changes you will see your temp improve and you know you are on the right track! Just being dehydrated has caused mine to go down a whole degree! (Plug here for you to come in and do a Hydration Eval using our Bio-Impedance scale)

The second test is your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) You will need a Heart rate monitor and the SweetBeatApp. Every morning while taking your temp you will also track your HRV. If it is doing well you can exercise however you like. If it is low you have STRESSED YOUR BODY and need to recover and do some healing. Lower intensity exercise, meditation, restorative nutrition, sauna, etc. This will keep you from over training or over taxing your body beyond its ability to repair. Bonus here is that you can also use the SweetBeatApp to figure out FOOD SENSITIVITIES.

SweetBeatApp

Genetic Testing

The Genetic Testing that is available today is amazing!  We are seeing all kinds

Genetic Testing gives a wealth of information, but what it actually tells you is often misunderstood!

of new opportunities for understanding open up.  There is some misunderstanding about how to look at it though so I thought I would lay out some basic guidelines that I use in looking at Genetic Testing.

 

First you need to know that genetic testing tells you what will happen easily.  Not what will happen.  My favorite nutrition instructor has horrible genetics when it comes to his cardiovascular system and blood pressure.  That means that without some serious effort he will have high blood pressure and will most likely die from cardiovascular issues.  Here’s the thing though… he gets tested every year and has the cardiovascular system of an 18 year old!

 

Genetics only tells you what you need to focus on. Not what will happen.

Why doesn’t he have an issue?  He knows where the weakness is in his system so he makes sure to do what is required to keep that part of his body healthy.  That is the advantage of it.  It tells you where you need to be strict and where you don’t have to worry as much.

 

A new area that also has started to make serious strides in helping patients is the new Genetic Testing for medication response.  Dr. Barbara, with whom I practice, has recently started to do this with patients who have difficulty with side effects and lack of positive response too medications.  What this test does is it tells you which pathways are open and which aren’t.  Essentially telling you what your Genetic type will respond well too and what it won’t in terms of medication!

 

The field of Genetic Testing is a brand new one and one that has many new problems to be overcome.  Recent companies like 23andme are exploring this

Test tubes don't tell you who you are. You decide that!

and bumping heads with the government as they try to figure out how to regulate it.  The main thing I think we need to realize though is that while Genetic Testing gives us a key to understanding… it is how we treat our bodies that ultimately determines our quality of life.

 

You are really the one who is in control.  Don’t let anyone tell you differently!  

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Thanks again for helping me get the word out!