1st Class was a Blast May 23, 2013

CLOTH dIaPeR 101 May 15, 2013

Interested in the Cloth Diaper craze!!??  We will be hosting an evening of what-for and how-to just for you!

Tiffany Carra with Simple Baby is going to be teaching us the ropes on Monday, May 20th here at Peace of Life Chiropractic.  Please plan about an hour plus questions.

Her website is www.simplebaby.com.  You can use coupon code POLC5 when you order ONLINE to get 5% off

Please feel free to send questions here on the event or you can email us at Peaceoflifechiropractic@live.com.

If at all possible, please limit your guests to friends/family and lap babies

We will soon be adding a diaper consignment date as well!!

ALL ABOUT MOMMIES May 7, 2013

In celebration of 2013 Mother’s Day and all of the hard work that is put into MOMMY-HOOD,  Peace of Life Chiropractic is hosting an all-expense-paid day at the chiropractor for MOMMIES!!

Join us by appointment or walk-in on Friday, May 10th, between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm for a complimentary visit!!  We will of course be serving refreshments & if our planning efforts come together we will have a goody bag for you as well!

Of course kids and grandkids will be welcome to help us celebrate!

Last, but not least, we request that this opportunity be limited to existing patients.  THANK YOU!

Our Facebook event will have the latest updates!

If you have any questions please give us a call at 972-775-4344

BIRTHING – A Look at Finances March 17, 2013

This is a blog shared from Enjoy Birth:

August 17, 2011

This is a Guest Post by Scott.

According to a recent study in Nurse Midwifery, the average homebirth that doesn’t have any complications costs about 68% less than a comparable hospital birth! When you add this to the fact that a homebirth with an excellent midwife is much less likely to land you with an unnecessary cesarean delivery, and the savings of a homebirth can be quite significant.

However, financing a homebirth is quite different, often times, from financing a hospital birth. Here’s what you need to know:

Average costs

If you didn’t have insurance, a hospital birth – uncomplicated and vaginal – would cost around $7,600. With insurance, most people pay about $1,500 to $2,300 out of pocket. This, of course, depends on your actual insurance coverage. It also depends on what area of the country you’re giving birth in, which medications you end up using, how long you stay in the hospital, and many other factors.

The average midwife-based home birth costs about $2,000 to $3,000. For some midwives, this fee covers all of the pre-birth consultations, as well, which can present significant savings. With a hospital birth, keep in mind that you must pay not only the hospital but also your practitioner for services the day of the birth as well as services in the months leading up to the birth.

Insurance coverage

One of the many reasons some couples choose not to go with a home birth is that they assume insurance will not cover it. This isn’t always true, though! Some insurance providers – including major providers like United Healthcare – now provide at least some coverage for midwives. Your insurance provider may pay part of the pre-birth fees, even if the actual home birth itself isn’t paid for.

However, never assume that your insurance won’t pay simply because homebirth is still rather unorthodox. Many insurance companies are coming to grips with the fact that midwives tend to offer more cost-effective care than traditional obstetricians! If it’s more cost-effective for you, then it’s more cost-effective for them, too.

Payment plans

When your insurance covers a hospital birth, you may be required to pay the fees up front before your due date. Many hospitals these days will check the insurance coverage of the pregnant woman and provide her with a payment plan leading up to the birth, and they’ll require that the fees for a regular vaginal birth be paid in full in the last month or two of pregnancy. If a c-section is required, the patient will have to pay even more out of pocket afterwards.

Midwives who work in homebirth may do something similar. It depends on the practice, though. Some will give you a monthly payment plan so that all your fees will be paid by the time the baby is born. Others will offer a discount if you pay in full up front, and still others will allow you to pay after the baby is born. This is definitely something to think about when you’re talking about financing homebirth, and you may want to compare midwives in your area for how they require patients to pay.

If you have to be transferred

One more thing to think about when financing a homebirth is what happens if you need to be transferred to the hospital. With top-rate midwives dealing with low-risk pregnancies, transfers rates are very low, but you still need to consider the possibility. Chances are likely that your insurance will kick in if you do need to transfer to the hospital, but then you’ll have to pay both the midwife and the hospital. Talk to your midwife about what will happen financially in a situation like this, just so that you can be prepared.

Figuring out how to finance it

If you don’t have enough money in savings at the moment to pay for a homebirth (or even a hospital co-pay for an in-hospital birth!), you may be able to finance your homebirth with a credit card. Consider applying for a low-interest credit card, or one with a limited-time no-interest option. Pay your fees in full up front, especially if this will score you a discount, and then pay off the credit card a little at a time. If you can pay off the card before it starts accruing interest, you’ve basically got a way to finance your homebirth without paying any extra fees.

Costs are only part of it

Many people who don’t have good insurance coverage choose a homebirth in part because it’s just so much more affordable than an uninsured or underinsured hospital birth. However, make sure that cost isn’t the only reason you’re choosing a homebirth. Instead, Jamie Scott from CreditDonkey recommends you get as much information as you can about homebirth, and make your choice based on what’s best for you and your family.

Mammography, Melons and the Whole Melody February 20, 2013

There has, and probably always will be much controversy over mammography. I have not personally experienced a mammogram, but I have heard “the dread” from many women revolving around their experience or upcoming screening.

Why the controversy?  What’s the risk?  Why would my doctor recommend a screening that would be harmful?  Why wouldn’t I want to detect a cancer as early as possible…..that is the reason to get screened right?!?

I do want to clarify that I am simply providing information here!  This decision to mammogram, thermogram or rely on faith & fate is 100% YOUR decision!!!  Whatever your decision should be, please know that I want it to be YOURS to make!  Confident, educated, well-thought-out decisions leave us with no regrets.  That is my hope in this effort of compiling information, no regrets!  I have no vested interest in the cancer industry, OBGYN malpractice claims, imaging center profits nor insurance company gains.  I only have interest in WOMEN!  Hard-working, all-deserving, love-filled women!  We are worthy of unlimited information and the freedom to be informed!  Please follow this blog with that in mind.

Briefly, A Few Reasons that Justify the Controversy

Mammography is achieved with the use of radiation.  Some sources compare the dose of one mammogram to 1,000 times that of a chest x-ray.  It is well known that radiation creates an increase in free radicals, which can ultimately begin the cancer cascade.

Dr. Samuel Epstein, one of the top cancer experts, stated:

“The premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increasing breast cancer risk by about 1 percent, with a cumulative 10 percent increased risk for each breast over a decade’s screening.”

The new 3D technology has been scrutinized repeatedly for the increased radiation the patient is exposed to.  This is an exerpt from USA Today, October 9, 2012:

‘The procedures [3D tomosynthesis] give women twice as much radiation as a standard mammogram, notes surgeon Susan Love, author of Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book. That’s because women who get 3-D imaging still undergo traditional 2-D mammography, as well.

In addition to radiation exposure, there is a undoubted coorelation to over-treatment and misdiagnosis.  Even if you only consider the patient’s well-being, it is staggering to think of all the “scares” from a finding that turns out to be nothing.  Beyond that, the amount of treatment that is recommended based on “questionable” findings is also a concern.

A new study published in The Lancet shows that for every life saved by mammography screening, three women will be overdiagnosed and treated for a cancer that might never have given them trouble in their lifetimes.  The study panel describes:

• 99 percent of patients diagnosed with a screen-detected breast cancer will undergo surgery
• About 70 percent will receive radiotherapy
• 70 percent will receive adjuvant endocrine therapy, and
• 25 percent will undergo toxic chemotherapy

As was revealed in a 2011 meta-analysis by the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews, mammography breast cancer screening led to 30 percent overdiagnosis and overtreatment, which equates to an absolute risk increase of 0.5 percent.

Another thing to consider is the pressure used to conduct the mammogram is intense.  So not only is it painful, but it could potentially spread the cells of an undiagnosed cancer.

Please also consider the new recommendations for breast screenings!!!  Previously in the US, women over the age of 40 were encouraged to be screened annually.  In 2009 the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated their recommendation, advising women should wait until the age of 50 to get screened, and only get a mammogram every other year thereafter.  If you are 40-50 years of age, please be aware of this!  It may save you the radiation exposure of 10+ screenings!

Unfortunately, money makes the world go around.  Given most doctors and imaging institutions have the patient’s best interest in mind, there is still the elephant in the corner!  How much revenue does just one extra mammogram per patient generate?   Take a gander at your bill from your last mammogram.  From what I have found each screening has a value of approximately $200.  Consider how much you paid out-of-pocket and how much the insurance company paid to the provider or image center.  Now multiply that times every woman over the age of 50 you know.  Now take that number and multiply it by 28.5 years (average life expectancy in the US is 78.5 years).  I’m sure you came up with a large number.  From an industry vantage point, you might see how cutting their recommendations in half would also cut their revenue in half.  Consider COST in your decision as well.  Combined with risks, is mammography the best decision for you?

You Have Options!!

Thermography is an age-old technique that has been used to detect cellular change in many types of tissues.  Specifically breast thermography has the ability to detect the thermal signs of blood vessel changes (neoangiogensis), suggesting the development of a pre-cancerous as well as cancerous condition. Consequently, breast thermography may be the first signal that rogue cells, uncoordinated by our body, may be building its blood supply and becoming bigger and/or spreading.

Consider the following from Women’s Natural Health Center website:

•  No radiation, no health risks, no pain, no IV access needed, and non-invasive
• Non-contact- no painful compression
• Preferable for large, dense, fibrocystic breasts, implants, and pregnant or nursing mothers
• Early stage cancers too small to be detected by palpitation exam or mammography may be signaled by infrared imaging
• Breast thermography (and adjunctive hormone or other testing) may suggest certain types of cancer and hormone imbalances that are not detected by other diagnostic tools
• Earliest method of breast cancer detection known because it monitors physiology and thus the health of the breast over time.
• May reduce number of surgeries for non-cancerous tumors
• A positive thermogram represents the highest known risk factor for future development of breast cancer, 10 times more significant than family history
• Compared to mammography, 7 out of 10 times infrared imaging is the first alarm that something is happening
• Hormone imbalance can be detected by certain vascular patterns and hormone testing

The Women’s Natural Health Center recommends using breast thermography in addition to mammography.  This is yet another decision that is YOURS to make

There is a really well-written and detailed article done by Dr. William Cockburn with the International Academy of Clinical Thermology.  He describes the difference between thermography and mammography:

Thermography is a test of PHYSIOLOGY. It does not look at anatomy or structure, and it only reads the infra-red heat radiating from the surface of the body.

Mammography, on the other hand, is a test of ANATOMY. It looks at structure. When a tumor has grown to a size that is large enough, and dense enough to block an x-ray beam, it produces an image on the x-ray or mammographic plate, that can be detected by a trained radiologist. A fine needle biopsy is then generally performed to identify the type of tissue in the mass, to determine if atypical or cancerous cells are present.

We now come to an important point. Neither thermography nor mammography can diagnose breast cancer. They are both diagnostic tests which reveal different aspects of the disease process and allow for further exploration.

I think this is an important point to recognize in the decisions revolving around cancer screening.  Afterall, that is what all the melody over the melons is about

You Have an Influence!

I would like to finish with a well-rounded list of helpful life practices that can help your body to harmonize and ultimately deter free radicals from jumping on the cancer train!  I share these words of wisdom from Dr. Mercola!!!

Breast Cancer Prevention Strategies

Cancer screening is NOT to be misconstrued as a form of cancer prevention. Preventing breast cancer is far more important and powerful than simply trying to detect it after it has already formed, which is why I want to share my top tips on how to help prevent this disease in the first place.

In the largest review of research into lifestyle and breast cancer, the American Institute of Cancer Research estimated that about 40 percent of U.S. breast cancer cases could be prevented if people made wiser lifestyle choices.^{11, 12} I believe these estimates are far too low, and it is more likely that 75 percent to 90 percent of breast cancers could be avoided by strictly applying the recommendations below.

• Avoid sugar, especially fructose. All forms of sugar are detrimental to health in general and promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.
• Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your body and is one of nature’s most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). If you have cancer, your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works synergistically with every cancer treatment I’m aware of, with no adverse effects. I suggest you try watching my one-hour free lecture on vitamin D to learn more.

Remember that if you take high doses of oral vitamin D3 supplements, you also need to increase your vitamin K2 intake, as vitamin D increases the need for K2 to function properly. See my previous article What You Need to Know About Vitamin K2, D and Calcium for more information.

Please consider joining one of GrassrootsHealth’s D*Action’s vitamin D studies to stay on top of your vitamin D performance. For more information, see my previous article How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize Your Health.

• Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays a role in helping prevent breast cancer.¹³ It’s best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks,¹⁴ raw butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.
• Lymphatic breast massage can help enhance your body’s natural ability to eliminate cancerous toxins. This can be applied by a licensed therapists, or you can implement self-lymphatic massage. It is also promotes self-nurturance.
• Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide — a carcinogen created when starchy foods are baked, roasted or fried — has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.
• Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogens, or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones. In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous cells.
• Improve your insulin receptor sensitivity. The best way to do this is by avoiding sugar and grains and making sure you are exercising, especially with Peak Fitness.
• Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating right for your nutritional type and exercising. It’s important to lose excess body fat because fat produces estrogen.
• Drink a quart of organic green vegetable juice daily. Please review my juicing instructions for more detailed information.
• Get plenty of high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3 deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.
• Curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations can be very useful adjunct in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis.¹⁵ It’s important to know that curcumin is generally not absorbed that well, so I’ve provided several absorption tips here.
• Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.
• Breastfeed exclusively for up to six months. Research shows breastfeeding can reduce your breast cancer risk.
• Avoid wearing underwire bras. There is a good deal of data that metal underwire bras can heighten your breast cancer risk.
• Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can increase your cancer risk.
• Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which are also comprised of synthetic hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)   

If you are experiencing excessive menopausal symptoms, you may want to consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy instead, which uses hormones that are molecularly identical to the ones your body produces and do not wreak havoc on your system. This is a much safer alternative.

• Avoid BPA, phthalates and other xenoestrogens. These are estrogen-like compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk
• Make sure you’re not iodine deficient, as there’s compelling evidence linking iodine deficiency with breast cancer. Dr. David Brownstein,¹⁶ author of the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It, is a proponent of iodine for breast cancer. It actually has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast and thyroid cancer cells.

For more information, I recommend reading Dr. Brownstein’s book. I have been researching iodine for some time ever since I interviewed Dr. Brownstein as I do believe that the bulk of what he states is spot on. However, I am not at all convinced that his dosage recommendations are correct. I believe they are too high.

I welcome you to begin your own exploration of the ins & outs of breast cancer, screenings and prevention.  It is a topic worth dedicating some of your time to!  Please feel free to comment with questions or leave your feedback.  I hope this was informative and left you empowered with decision-making skills to enhance your journey, leaving you with no regrets!!!

In Loving Service,

Dr. Taryn Lowery

THIS IS HOW WE ROLL!! January 31, 2013

We have talked and talked about foam rolling, and now the CLASS if finally here!!!

Dr. Joey Lowery with Airrosti is going to lead our class on Saturday morning, the 23rd of February.  He is certified with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.  He was a personal trainer for 8 years before deciding to become a chiropractor.  After receiving his Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker College of Chiropractic in 2009, he spent a couple of years in family practice before joining Airrosti in 2012.  His practices with Airrosti here in Midlothian as well as Grand Prairie.  He accepts appointments on Tuesday and Friday in Midlothian, and Monday, Wednesday, Thursday in Grand Prairie.

This class will be appropriate for beginners and beyond.  It is FREE to attend!  It is open to the community; you do not have to be a patient.  Foam rollers will be provided.  You are welcome to bring your own.  We have room for about 10 guests.  Please RSVP at the Peace of Life Chiropractic facebook page or via email at peaceoflifechiropractic@live.com so we can ensure you a spot

We hope to offer this class quarterly.  If this date does not work for you, please plan on joining us next time!!!

Battle For Jarrod January 14, 2013

We will be hanging out at Swink Crossfit’s Battle for Jarrod on Saturday!!!  You can learn more about the event at the website listed.  Jarrod is a great friend of The Lowery’s and Mandi’s brother.  He is a 33 year old son, brother, husband, and father who was diagnosed with ALS.  He is just a wonderful man and your support will be welcomed with much gratitude!  See ya there!!!