Just Eat Food!

We have this vessel, our body that needs certain ingredients in order for it to run properly. There is a basic concept that we all must understand. If you don’t give your body the proper fuel to allow it to run properly, it won’t! There it is simple as pie; just give your body the proper fuel. Sounds simple but I see book after book telling us what to eat, how to eat, in what proportions, if there should be carbohydrate if there should be saturated fat, every opinion under the sun about food. For the most part all of these books can be correct if you follow the plan, meaning that almost all reasonably healthy plans will work if you stick with them. I have realized that you can find studies and statistics that prove whatever you want if you are willing to take a narrow view of the facts and manipulate it to your liking. The way I decipher what is a good plan of eating or not in the vast realm of nutrition is by first using plain old common sense. If I feel that the guidelines in the book make sense and that I could follow those guidelines easily than I would give it a try. Now you could spend your life jumping from trying every plan available or the best advice you can follow is to find out one that works for you and stick with it. What do I mean by working for you? Well I consider a way of eating proper if it allows you to fuel your body enough to build muscle but not put on much fat and makes you feel good while eating that way.

So when it comes down to it, how do we feed these incredible bodies of ours? There are many different paths that we can take. Again there are many books out there that you can buy and try so that is an option.

For those that want the ultimate in simplicity, for those that can’t bear to follow any guidelines or plans. For those of you that want the magic pill, that just want to know the bare minimum I have this advice. First of all there is not now and never will be a magic pill so give up your search; and if anyone tells you that their pill is the new miracle pill on the market run the other way.

My advice to you is this:

Don’t eat anything that comes out of a box!

You wanted it simple there it is! Many of the problems of modern society have been caused by convenience foods. Yes the stuff that you eat that can last on a shelf for weeks or months or years at a time. The stuff filled with partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats, sugar, polyscorbate 80, red dye #4, and numerous other chemical additives, fillers,

by-products, and preservatives. If you just simply follow this rule your life will improve! You’re done! You now know how to help people with problems like diabetes and heart disease. Just remember just because you didn’t see it in a box doesn’t mean that it didn’t come from a box. Restaurants use boxed items also. That is a good basic rule but there are many exceptions to the rule, very often my frozen brussel sprouts come in a box and I am not about to give them up.

Now here are the general exceptions to the box rule. This is not a weight loss plan or a special needs diet. It is a list of the 2 most basic rules of proper nutrition that will enable you to become a healthier happier person. Here are my rules for what constitutes something to be called food. And if all you eat is food than you are on your way to becoming healthy.

1. Food is not white unless it started off that way.
2. Food spoils

Let me explain Rule 1. Food is not white unless it started off that way. That means that eggs, milk, fish, cauliflower, chicken, white beans…are all considered food because man/woman has not done anything to these things to make them white (except maybe cook them) they are basically unadulterated. What doesn’t belong on the food list? Sugar, white flour, Splenda, Equal, … all the things man/woman has placed in nice packages that sort of looks like food and sure does taste good but really is just a manufactured product not something that grows or once lived and provides nourishment.

Nourishment, now there’s a word for you. The main reason for these two main rules for food is to try to ensure that everything that you eat provides some nourishment. You should not eat merely to fill your stomach so the hunger pains go away. The purpose of eating is to provide the nutrients necessary to carry on the process of LIFE!

Now don’t get discouraged I love, love, love food. I love to cook, smell, shop for, and of course eat food. You can truly have delicious and nutritious things to eat all day long, day in and day out that are simple to prepare and still be able stick to these rules. Believe me I do it all the time. It just takes a little time to learn new habits.

I’ll follow up soon with ideas to help follow the eat food not junk rule in future Blogs.

Thanks for reading!!!!!!

Dr. Piken

Acid Reflux

Sometimes I can't believe how many patients I see that have some form of acid reflux. Symptoms can include upper abdominal bloating soon after a meal, a dry persistent cough, bad breath, heartburn, or full out burning acid regurgitating up to the throat. There are many levels of acid reflux and all of them should be addressed. Letting small symptoms like these develop further could damage the esophagus and can even lead to cancers of the upper digestive tract.

The biggest problem I have with acid reflux is the most common approaches to treating it. Treating acid reflux usually means suppressing the acid with calcium (TUMS) or various medications that inhibit the production of acid in the stomach. This approach may sound simple and correct but there are consequences to suppressing or blocking the acid. For one our stomach is supposed to be a very acidic place. The acid from our stomach mainly in the form of hydrochloric acid helps us to digest our foods. Without the proper acidity levels we have trouble digesting foods. Some of the more difficult to break down nutrients are Calcium, Magnesium and many proteins (amino acids). Utilizing acid blocking can be necessary for short periods of time to allow the esophagus to heal but staying on these acid reducers can lead to other problems from the loss of these vital nutrients.

The best way of going about fixing the symptoms of acid reflux is by adressing the deficiencies or structural imbalances that lead to the symptoms in the first place. That is always the treatment approach at our office, treat the person not the symptom. The two main causes that we see in our office for acid reflux are either a zinc deficiency, a hiatal hernia, a TMJ (jaw) problem, or a subluxation (misalignment) of the mid thoracic vertebrae. Usually it is a combination of a few or all of these problems.

I will begin by explaining the relationship of the TMJ imbalance and acid reflux because it ties things together. It starts off with the trigger for every problem Stress. Stress can be physical(getting punched in the mouth), chemical(smoking ciggarettes), or emotional(trying to meet a 9:00am deadline for the project. Either way one of the things people do when under stress is to clench their teeth together placing stress on the jaw joint the TMJ. If there happens to be even a slight imbalance in the alignment of your bite then that clenching or grinding of your teeth can cause TMJ dyscomfort. As soon as your innate senses TMJ dyscomfort there should be a compensation to alleviate that dyscomfort. Remember your jaw is very important, if it doesn't work properly you don't eat and you die. So preserving the function of the jaw takes priority over many other problems. The classic compensation for a jaw problem is to create tension in muscles around the neck area to help bring the jaw back into alignment. If that muscular compensation subluxates (mis-aligns) either the 3rd,4th,or 5th cervical bones there can be an impact on the function of your diaphragm (C3,4,5 all innervate the diaphragm muscle).
A weakness in the diaphragm muscle can lead to a hiatal hernia.

A hiatal hernia happens when a weakness in the diaphragm allows a part of the stomach to rise up above the diaphragm where the esophagus should be. Why is that a problem? There is a small sphincter that separates the esophagus and the stomach. That sphincter keeps the acid in the stomach. In the case of the hiatal hernia that sphincter may not be working properly and acid or regurgitated food can escape.

When there is a problem with the optimum function of the diaphragm there can be tension that builds up in the 5th,6th,and/or7th thoracic vertebrae which all contribute to the innervation of the stomach itself.

When there is a zinc deficiency(either from lack of zinc in the diet or too much copper in the diet which competes with zinc) there may be a decrease in the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. If there isn't enough hydrochloric acid you can also get acid reflux. Sounds crazy I know but if there is enough acid in the stomach that acidity actually triggers that sphincter we mentioned at the junction of the stomach and the diaphragm to close. With a lack of acidity that sphicter gets lazy and if there is little acid to stimulate it to close it can become weak. If you have a wak sphincter and you eat a meal that will temporarily incerase your stomach acidity that acid can escape out of the weakend valve and give you symptoms of acid reflux. So if you have the proper acidity your acid reflux will improve.


The way to fix all of this is to see a health care practiotioner that understands all of these parts. This is why I love applied Kinesiology so much it gives the practitioner the tools to understand why the patient is having symptoms from many different perspectives without the use of drugs or surgery.

The typical protocol in our office would involve checking for and fixing subluxations in the spine and the TMJ by adjusting and/ or using muscle balancing techniques. Also we would check fotr nutritional needs for supplemental Betaine Hydrochloride, digestive enzymes, and zinc. We can also release stress from the diaphragm itself with different muscular corrections.

The longer you have had these imbalances the more difficult they are to fix but given time most people can get healthy without the use of drugs or surgery.

Hope this addition to the blog helps more people to understand about what we do.

Yours in Health,

Jason Piken DC, CNS

4R Program for Intestinal Health

4R Program for Intestinal Health


If you are someone that deals with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue, frequent colds, general malaise, or just want to get healthier then a 4R program can be right for you.

The 4R program is designed to be a digestive cleanse. There are many ways of cleansing and through my experience I have found a doctor prescribed, specifically patient tailored program achieves the best results. This is that program. The 4 R's stand for:

Remove, Restore, Reinnoculate, Repair

During the initial removal phase the patient is tested for signs and symptoms of dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is a term used to describe an imbalance in the typical gut flora. The gut flora are the living microorganisms (beneficial bacteria like acidophilus and bifidobacteria, yeasts, parasites, molds, fungi) that reside in our intestinal tract. Yes, there are many colonies of these little microorganisms that live within us and most are supposed to be there.

The beneficial or good bacteria and other microorganisms have created a symbiotic relationship with our bodies. These microorganisms feast on our undigested food, mainly fiber, and help our digestion, aid in our immune system and even help us to produce helpful nutrients such as vitamin K.

Unfortunately not all the microorganisms that reside in our digestive tract are beneficial. There are many strains of unfriendly microorganisms that enter our bodies throughout our lifetime. These microorganisms don't really care much about us so they don't help to secrete useful products. Just the opposite happen, they act as parasites or toxin producers. These bad bugs can promote gas and toxins which disturb the normal homeodynamics (vist our blog on homeodynamics rather than homeostasis) of our bodies.

The simple explanation I like to use in my office is this:"Good bugs live in our gut and help us by eating our poop and pooping out their own beneficial byproducts. Bad bugs live in our gut and also eat our poop but when they poop they poop out toxins."When the ratio of good/bad bacteria reaches a certain level we get symptoms. That magic ratio is different for every individual and the symptoms are quite varied. Symptoms can include chronic aches and pains, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, headaches, fatigue...I can go on and on.

How Do we Address Dysbiosis?

The first R addresses these bugs. There are many nutritional products available for helping to eliminate the bad microorganisms in your body, in our office we figure out which product/s you need. During the "Removal" phase of the 4R program these supplements are taken and typically a "Yeast Free Diet" is prescribed (visit our Blog about Yeast Free Diet). This process will last anywhere from 2-8 weeks depending on the individual.

The next R is "Restore". Here we Restore digestive enzymes that help to make digestion of foods easier. Also at times I prescribe supplements that re-acidify the stomach with the proper betaine hydrochloride balance. In our office we choose from different digestive enzymes that vary depending on the patient. This stage will be implemented along with one or more of the other R's.

The next R is "Reinnocculate". In this stage beneficial bacteria and or yeast supplements (probiotics) are prescribed to populate the digestive tract with high amounts of the “Friendly bugs.” The strains of probiotics used are dependant upon the individual. The length of time used and the dosage also vary. I see two common problems from patients that are taking probiotics on their own. One is lack of quality and stability in their probiotics, if a microorganism is dead by the time it reaches the target area it is of no help. Number two is a lack of knowledge on dosage (typically how many billions of probiotics to take a day) and for how long you should take them. I do believe in tailoring programs to the individual rather than giving out general advice to the masses. This stage is usually more intensive for 4-8 weeks and then can last as a supportive stage for up to 6 months at a time.

The final R is "Repair". In the repair stage we test the individual for nutrients that will aid their bodies in the natural repair process of the digestive tract. These products vary also but include nutrients such as Turmeric, L-Glutamine, B-vitamins, Aloe and Licorice. The most commonly used product, UltraInflam-X by Metagenics, I do not mind mentioning because of how many individuals I feel it helps. This stage varies greatly in length. I have many individuals including myself that have used "Repair" products such as UltraInflam-X for years learning when to cycle on and off of it.

I hope this helped to explain another tool I use in my office to help patients. I hope this information sparks questions or conversations with me or others. As always I believe you should learn as much as you can on your own and question anything that doesn't make sense to you. Your health is and should be in your own hands. Be responsible and take charge of it!


Yours in Health,

Dr. Piken