Dr. Halpern's 25th Anniversary serving the Northport Community

The Chiropractic office of Dr. Halpern is celebrating 25 years in Northport! 


Dr. Halpern would like to show his appreciation to all of his patients and friends who have given him the opportunity to enhance the Health and Well-being of so many in the Northport area and beyond. Please Join us for a reception of Hors d'oeuvres, Refreshments, Live Music and Complimentary Chair Massages 
Saturday October 19th 2013: 3:00-8:00 pm 

Location: 
Northport Natural Health 
842 Fort Salonga Road suite 3 
Northport NY 11768 
(Corner of 25A and Vernon Valley Road) 

We look forward to celebrating with you!

The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests Chiropractic care for lower back pain

The AMA has recently released an article finally determining Chiropractic care to be patient's first decision in dealing with back pain over other convention methods, namely Drugs and surgery. For years the American Medical Association was the sole force attempting to demonize and do away with Chiropractic and alternative care. Now in 2013, an article has been published in their Medical journal suggesting otherwise. For half a century, the American Medical Association waged war against chiropractic, an intervention that relies on spinal adjustments to treat health problems. Chiropractors were regarded as the modern-day equivalent of snake-oil salesmen. Today, chiropractors are the third largest group of health care providers, after physicians and dentists, who treat patients directly. AMA policy now states that it is ethical for physicians not only to associate professionally with chiropractors but also to refer patients to them for diagnostic or therapeutic services. "In the last decade of the 20th century, chiropractic has begun to shed its status as a marginal or deviant approach to care and is becoming more mainstream," said Paul Shekelle, M.D. and director of RAND's Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center. He played a key role in RAND's landmark investigations of chiropractic that stimulated a national reappraisal of this and other nontraditional health care approaches. What led to the change in attitude toward chiropractic? Major events included: •The 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision on a lawsuit, known as the Wilks case, that found the AMA and others guilty of illegal conspiracy against the chiropractic profession. •Recognition by the established medical community that most medical therapies for back pain are ineffective. •RAND's 1992 groundbreaking analysis of spinal manipulation that showed this intervention does benefit some people with acute low-back pain. This study directly influenced the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to include positive recommendations on spinal manipulation in its 1994 clinical practice guidelines on low-back pain. This federal agency issues such guidelines to help the medical community improve the quality of health care in the United States. Chiropractic: Then and Now Chiropractic, a term used both as a noun and adjective, comes from the Greek and means "done by hand." The practice originated in the late 1890s with Daniel David Palmer, a self-taught healer in Iowa who sought a cure for illness and disease that did not rely on drugs or surgery. Palmer reported curing deafness in a man who had lost his hearing after straining doing heavy work. Palmer attributed the hearing loss to a displaced vertebra and treated it by adjusting the man's spine. Based on this and other cases he treated with spinal manipulation (also called spinal adjustment), Palmer advanced his theory that most disease is caused by misaligned vertebrae that impinge on spinal nerves. Such misalignments are called subluxations. According to Palmer, correcting these misalignments reestablishes normal nerve and brain function and allows the body to heal itself. Today, only a small fraction of chiropractors believe that their treatments can substitute for traditional medicine to care for all illness and disease. Many practitioners focus on musculoskeletal problems of the spine, that is, conditions affecting the backbone and associated muscles. In fact, most people go to chiropractors for low-back pain. Chiropractors most commonly adjust the spine by using their hands to apply forceful pressure, known as a high-velocity thrust, on areas that are out of alignment or that do not have normal range of motion. Sometimes this causes an audible "pop." At times, a chiropractor will do an adjustment with an instrument called an activator. Practitioners also use mobilization (manual therapy that does not involve a high-velocity thrust) as well as physical therapy. Although spinal manipulation is the key component of chiropractic care, most practitioners take a holistic approach and include such things as nutrition counseling and exercise advice in their treatment program. In order to be called a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine (DC), practitioners must graduate from one of the 16 chiropractic schools currently accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education. Before chiropractors can practice, they must be licensed by their state. All states require them to pass the National Chiropractic Board examination. Chiropractic services are covered by most health insurance plans, including Medicare. However, conflict between the chiropractic and medical communities continues over such issues as limitations on insurance reimbursements for chiropractic services and allowing health care providers other than chiropractors to do spinal adjustments.

Sleep trouble?

Although summer is a time for fun and relaxation, many of us tend to over extend ourselves and try to soak up every last minute of our days left! We begin to stress more over our plans than to truly enjoy them, all boiling down to the common denominator: we as a nation do not get enough sleep! If you are suffering from lack of proper, deep sleep (yes it does matter what type of sleep you exhibit) the solution maybe as simple as a few relaxation techniques described below.  However many of us may have gone years with poor sleep habits due to physical, mental or emotional stressors. Those addicted to prescription sleep drugs need to realize there are healthy alternatives out there that have been proven to be nonaddictive and extremely beneficial to those suffering from improper sleep patterns. If you fall into any of these categories, take a minute to look at this week's article.

How to Achieve Deep, Uninterrupted Sleep

Americans now get about 25 percent less sleep than they did a century ago. This isn’t just a matter of fatigue; it causes serious damage to your body.

Sleep deprivation can alter your levels of thyroid and stress hormones, which play a part in everything from your memory and immune system to your heart and metabolism. Over time, lack of sleep can lead to:

·              Weight gain

·              Depression

·              High blood sugar levels and an increased risk of diabetes

·              Brain damage

Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to get the sleep your body craves. Here are 10 to start with (and the link below has 14 more):

1. Sprinkle just-washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water, and then iron them before making your bed. The scent is proven to promote relaxation.

2. Hide your clock, so that its glow won’t disturb you and make sure there is no light coming from other sources including your windows as this will seriously impair your body’s ability to produce melatonin.

3. Choose the right pillow -- neck pillows, which resemble a rectangle with a depression in the middle, can enhance the quality of your sleep and reduce neck pain.

4. Paint your bedroom sage green, or another soothing color, which will provide a visual reminder of sleep.

5. Move your bed away from outside walls, which will help cut down on noise.

6. Kick your dog or cat out of your bedroom -- studies have shown that they snore!

7. Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime; it increases your core body temperature, and when it abruptly drops when you get out of the bath, it signals your body that you are ready for sleep.

8. Keep a notepad at your bedside -- if you wake in the middle of the night with your mind going, you can transfer your to-do list to the page and return to sleep unworried.

9. Put heavier curtains over your windows -- even the barely noticeable light from streetlights, a full moon, or your neighbor‘s house can interfere with the circadian rhythm changes you need to fall asleep.

10. Eat a handful of walnuts before bed -- they’re a good source of tryptophan, a sleep-enhancing amino acid.

 

Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. Nowadays, a National Sleep Foundation (NSF) poll found that Americans sleep just under 7 hours per night, on average, during the week and about 7.5 hours on the weekends.

While I don’t believe there is a hard-and-fast rule as to how long you must sleep, it is crucial that you do get enough, and this means listening to your body.

Unfortunately, sleep problems -- such as waking up too early, not being able to fall asleep or not being able to stay asleep -- are at near epidemic levels. One NSF poll found that more than half of the adults they surveyed experienced one or more of these symptoms.

Why is Sleep so Important?

Of course, you know instinctively that sleep is essential just by the way you feel when you don’t get enough of it. But sleep is very complex, and sleep deprivation can impact your body in a number of ways:

·              It can make you fat: People who sleep less than seven hours a night tend to have a higher body mass index (BMI) than people who sleep more. This could be because sleep deprivation alters metabolism. Leptin, the hormone that signals satiety, falls while ghrelin, which signals hunger, rises -- and this boosts your appetite.

·              It harms your brain: Lack of sleep may cause your brain to stop producing new cells. 

·              It may increase your risk of cancer: How well you sleep can seriously alter the balance of hormones in your body. This can then disrupt your sleep/wake cycle, also called your circadian rhythm. A disrupted circadian rhythm may influence cancer progression through shifts in hormones like melatonin, which your brain makes during sleep.

·              It may increase your risk of diabetes: Too little sleep may reduce levels of leptin, possibly causing you to gain weight and then develop diabetes.

What Makes Sleeping so Difficult?

There is no one answer to this question, but there are some common factors that can easily disturb your night’s rest:

·              Racing thoughts: Your worries can easily keep you awake if you don’t know how to overcome them

·              TV, computers and video games: Not only do these electronic items make it more difficult to fall asleep, but they also keep you from getting high-quality sleep if you fall asleep with them on. In fact, many teens are now getting “junk sleep” for this very reason (but, of course, teens are not the only ones falling asleep with the TV or computer on).

ASK THE DOC ABOUT HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO THE COMMON HARMFUL SLEEP AIDS AVAILABLE IN OUR OFFICE:

5-HTP CR -has a delivery system that releases 5-HTP slowly and steadily over a period of time. 5-HTP is a drug-free amino acid derived from a plant that naturally increases the body’s level of serotonin, the chemical messenger that affects emotions, behavior, appetite, and sleep. Today’s stress-filled lifestyles and dietary practices may negatively affect how the body handles serotonin. Regular use of XYMOGEN^®’s 5-HTP CR helps promote a more positive outlook and greater appetite control.*

Sedalin is an all-natural herbal blend of Magnolia officinalis and Ziziphus spinosa formulated to support restful sleep. The ingredients in SedaLin have been used to promote muscular comfort and support healthy nighttime stress hormone levels. To achieve maximum effectiveness, this non-addictive formula should be taken for a minimum of seven nights in a row and may be taken indefinitely.*

Melatonin is produced naturally in the pineal gland of the brain in response to changes in light exposure; it helps maintain healthy sleep patterns as well as antioxidant and immune activities. Melatonin can be taken as a supplement to support these functions by promoting normal levels of melatonin in the body.*

And of course, the best way to give anyone a goodnight sleep is to look at their overall spinal structure. Those who have undergone Chiropractic adjustments have all shown improvments in their sleep. Dr. Halpern,along with providing Chiropractic and nutritional care, may show you ways in which you can improve your rest just by changing habits you never knew were harmful! If you are interested in any of the topics or products mentioned above, come see us at Northport Natural Health: 631-757-3000

Whey Protein: What we feel you should know

Summer is here! I’m sure for many of you that means trying to hit the gym, lower the daily calorie intake and of course reach for those expensive and often damaging workout supplements. Before doing so, check out this article published by Mercola.com (*More information about this site below):

Particularly as you age, your body gradually loses its ability to produce critical amino acids -- the essential proteins you need for energy production, immune actions and protein buildup in the muscle.

Therefore, the need to supplement with these amino acids increases as you get older and increases even more in times of high physical stress, like after a workout, or when recovering from injury or illness.

That's where whey protein comes in...

Whey protein contains all the essential amino acids*. Plus it boasts the highest protein quality rating among all proteins. Thus, it is a complete protein.

Whey protein is a by-product of the cheese manufacturing process. At one time it was discarded or used for animal feed, but researchers later realized whey protein has incredible benefits for humans.

High-quality whey protein can have dramatic effects. Benefits include:

    Supports your immune health*

    Boosts your energy*

    Supports your joint and muscle health*

    Supports your beneficial gut bacteria*

    Promotes your muscle strength, endurance and recovery*

    Protects all your tissues' cells via its antioxidant properties*

    Provides critical amino acids and proteins for overall optimal health*

    Supports your body's optimal metabolic rate and fat burning level*

You can quickly see why whey protein is so beneficial for anyone living an active lifestyle…. But, finding a protein powder that contains the right proteins, in the most effective blend, with the most nutritionally beneficial outcomes, AND actually tastes good can be a real challenge. Do you feel yourself often asking these questions:

    What are all those random ingredients?

    How do I know it contains the best proteins I really need?

    Why does it contain so many artificial sweeteners?

    How can I determine where the protein powder came from (e.g., are the cows grain fed or grass fed, hormonally treated or organic, and so on)?

    What's the difference between heat and cold processing and how does it affect the protein powder?

    Should I choose protein isolates or a concentrate?

    Do I need to be concerned about heavy metal levels in the protein powder?

What's the most challenging part of finding a quality whey protein powder? Most brands out there don't actually give you answers to any of these questions.

Commercially-available whey protein powders are significantly damaged and nutritionally deficient due to over-processing and because the original source of the whey is compromised.

Plus, some popular leading brands of protein powder may contain dangerous levels of heavy metals. A recent Consumer Reports' test showed that 3 of the 15 protein drinks tested contained risky levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead.

9 Essentials to Look For in Your Whey Protein Powder

1. All-natural, grass fed cows' whey, NOT pesticide-treated, grain-fed cows' whey

Compared to grain-fed cows, grass fed cows produce whey that:

• Is nutritionally superior to grain fed
• Contains an impressive amino acid and immuno-supportive nutrient profile
• Is rich in healthy fats--lipolic acid and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)
1.  

Hormone-free Cows, NOT hormonally-treated cows

Many American dairy farmers inject the hormone rBGH in dairy cows to increase milk production. This hormone has been linked to serious disease and illness, including cancer. Choose whey made from hormone-free cows.

3. Cold processed, NOT heat processed

Most whey is heat processed which:

• Makes the whey acidic and nutritionally deficient
• Damages the immuno-supportive micronutrients and amino acids
• Makes whey inadequate for consumption

Cold processed whey protects the nutrients in their natural state.

4. Acid-free processing, NOT Acid / Ion Exchange Processing

Acid / Ion Exchange Processing is cheaper than acid-free processing, but it denatures the amino acid profiles by using acids and chemicals to separate the whey from the fats.

5. Whey protein concentrate, NOT protein isolates

Protein isolates are proteins stripped away from their nutritional cofactors. There are three problems with that...

• All isolates are exposed to acid processing.
• Your body cannot assimilate proteins in isolated form.
• Due to over-processing, isolates are deficient in key amino acids and nutritional cofactors.
5. Sweetened naturally, NOT artificially, and low carb sweetener

Most whey products are artificially sweetened making them useless if you have sugar sensitivities, or just don't want to put artificial sweeteners or flavors into your body.

Your whey should be low glycemic, low carb and should not contain any artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohol, glycerin, fructose, sugar or gluten. Try natural sweeteners such as honey, agave nectar and sugar in the raw.

7. Maximum biological value, NOT compromised or damaged

Most whey proteins provide some benefit. But, due to the ingredients, the source of the whey, the concentration of beneficial nutrients, or the type of processing, many whey products simply don't deliver what they promise.

You want whey that's guaranteed to retain its maximum biological value -- one with all the key amino acids, cofactors and beneficial micronutrients present and intact rather than compromised or damaged, and not missing any amino acids or essential nutrients.

8. Easy to Digest, NOT Causing Digestive Stress

Many whey products contain long-chain fatty acids which are hard to digest and require bile acids to absorb.

You want a whey protein powder with medium chain triglycerides (MCT). These are easily absorbed, digested quickly, and utilized as energy without causing digestive stress.

Ideally, you want a product in which the MCT come from the best source of all -- coconut oil.

9. Free from Toxic Heavy Metals or at Such Low Levels NOT to be a Health Risk

Dr. Halpern offers the Whey DreamProtein right from our office, no ordering necessary. This product not only offers all 20 Essential Amino Acids, but is less than 100 calories per serving, has 0g of fat, uses only natural sweeteners, is hormone free ( and comes from cows not given rBGH or BST hormones specifically), and follows the low glycemic guideline of many diets. Call us if you are interested, have any questions, or would like more information regarding our other products. Here at Northport Natural health our goal is to reach our community by educating its members to achieve optimal health through a wellness lifestyle.

631-757-3000

Dream Protein is Guaranteed Delicious or Your Money Back! NO • Sugar • Fructose • Aspartame • Sucrose • MSG • Artificial Sweeteners • Glutamates • Hydrolyzed Whey Protein • Soy LOW • Carbohydrate • Fat • Cholesterol • Sodium • Lactose • Glycemic Index
Mixing Instructions: As a dietary supplement, take one or more scoops daily to supply your diet with protein. Mix one level scoop with 6-8 ounces of water, milk or your favorite beverage. The unique ingredients in Dream Protein may help to:  • Boost Immune System • Enhance Energy Levels • Maintain Lean Body Mass • Maintain Healthy Weight Management

Welcome to Northport Natural Health's new weekly blog! We are excited to be able to share the most up-to-date information on Chiropractic and nutritional care as well as keep you posted about our upcoming programs. We are also now located on Facebook under  "Northport Natural Health" and as always you can visit our website for more information, location, hours of service, and what you can expect from our office at: northportnaturalhealth.com. We are excited to be able to share our office, knowledge and care with you.
Get to know the Doc!
Dr. Davin Halpern is a licensed Chiropractor serving the Northport community.
He has been freeing people from pain in his clinic in Northport, NY. Dr. Halpern uses a "whole person" approach to health and is committed to promoting the health and well being of his patients.  This approach to wellness means looking for underlying causes of any disturbance or disruption (which may or may not be causing symptoms at the time) and make whatever interventions and lifestyle adjustments that would optimize the conditions for normal function. Using this unique approach, Dr. Halpern is able to help you to accelerate and/or maintain your journey to good health.

Call us if you have any questions, comments,concerns, or if you would like to schedule an appointment, our number is: 631-757-3000
Address: 842 Fort Salonga rd (25a)
               Northport NY 11768