Thankful For Good Health

Why We Are So Sick?

Western medicine is flawed. It has become a disease care system with an emphasis on the elimination of symptoms by taking a lifetime of pharmaceuticals. This process is misleading and has created a medical dogma under the guise of media propaganda and a ruthless pharmaceutical industry. There is way too much suffering and illness for US “healthcare” to be touted as successful.

Medicine is not bad, and emergency medicine saves lives, however, the medical approach for average patient care focuses on the search for disease instead of promoting wellness. Healthcare and disease care are two entirely different things. Most people only know of disease care.

Alternative Health and Healing

I started Chill Space, an NYC Health Spa, with the question in my mind of how could I offer people a way to heal, balance, restore and relax in the most comfortable but most effective way possible. I will not make any curative claims about the therapies we provide such as floatation therapy, cryosauna, infrared sauna, but I will say that stress is a huge factor in creating ill health. I find these three therapies to be a tremendous compliment to any healing regime.

It’s unfortunate that negative bias has been beaten into the public’s paradigm about alternative health care. More people should be seeking out alternative care, but many believe it’s quackery, or that vitamins or herbs don’t work, etc. On the contrary, every day I see sick patients get well, injured patients heal, and people with nowhere else to turn “miraculously” get better every day. How is this possible?

Because the focus is on restoring health versus eliminating the disease.

This method of patient care is called Applied Kinesiology, a specialty of Chiropractic care with an emphasis on Functional Medicine.

What is Functional Medicine?

Functional Medicine as defined by The Institute of Functional Medicine “is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease.” In other words, it’s a method in which illness is approached by looking at unique and individualized causative factors. The solutions will vary from person to person even if they are suffering from the same diagnosis, Illness or symptoms. The methods of diagnosis utilize the standard laboratory diagnostic tests, examination, and imaging but in addition look at other aspects of ill health that often get overlooked and are not within the lens of a typical western medicine physician.

On a regular basis, I see patients or spa clients seeking relief for fatigue, pain, joint inflammation, constipation, vertigo, insomnia, bloating, skin rashes, headaches, low libido, digestive problems, autoimmune disease, weak immunity, fill in the "blank" disease and more. These patients are your friends, your relatives or you. A majority of patients have seen a traditional medical doctor before they walk through my door. The lack of basics in restoring health is overlooked, and sometimes the simplest things can have profound and life-changing effects.

I like to think that there are four basic needs for health: air, water, food, and sleep. That’s where I start looking for problems. The assessment gets more complicated than detailed in this newsletter, but if any of these are misaligned, you can put yourself into a state of dis-ease which over time leads to disease. Those with resilient systems can handle more stressors and bounce back, those with less resiliency end up not feeling well.

Toxicity and Detox

A common thing I see contributing to illness is “toxicity," caused by your bodies own inability to detoxify and/or your exposure to toxicants. Genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors are the usual culprits and can be improved upon tremendously to assist along the road to health.

We are all exposed to toxicants and toxins on a daily basis. Our bodies are designed to detoxify and remove natural and man-made chemicals through the bowel, liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin. Not everyone has the same ability to detoxify. We all have the same internal machinery, but we don’t all have the same blueprints. So what is a detox program, why would you need one and what is it good for?

My Tips To Help You Be Thankful For Your Good Health

Basically, a detox is a way to remove the extra load of toxicants from your body. There are a plethora of books, programs, products and methods to enhance detoxification, but there are also very simple inexpensive ways to “clean yourself out” and get a reset. Here are the common things I recommend for 30 days:

• An alkaline ash diet
• Fluoride-free and chlorine-free water
• Some type of daily exercise (not to exceed a heart rate of 180 – your age)
• Go caffeine free (off coffee and tea)
• 7-8 hours of sleep
• Check your omega 6: omega 3 ratio and get it to 2:1
• Test for heavy metals (hair mineral or urine provoked testing)
• No alcohol or smoking
• Avoid all wheat and dairy
• Eat carrots, celery, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, watercress, arugula, berries, nuts and seeds on a daily basis

These recommendations are not hard to achieve; they just take some willpower and planning. Once you decide to do it, stick with it. If you cheat a little, that’s ok. I know you’ll notice some benefit in how you feel. I look forward to seeing you at Chill Space.

About the Author

Dr. Josh Kantor D.C. owns and manages Chill Space, a leading Wellness Spa in NYC. To learn more about scheduling a cryosauna session please visit his website at ChillSpaceNYC.com.