Patients for Life
Chiropractic/Nutritional/Fitness/Successful Living Breakthroughs • Fast Facts • News Family Chiropractic Group / Accident and Industrial Injury Centers
Dr. Sarb Dhesi, Chiropractor
169 Market Place, San Ramon, CA 94583 • 39237 Liberty Street, Fremont, CA 94538 (800) 950-1620 / (925) 275-9350 • Fax (800) 950-1521 / (925) 275-9390 •drSarb@pacbell.net
CHIROPRACTIC BREAKTHROUGHS!
Doing What Needs to Be Done the Smart Way
Minimizing the potential for back pain requires a little retraining in how we approach our everyday tasks. The two most effective means to keeping your back in optimal working order are exercise and learning how to safeguard your back as you go about your daily work—at home, on the job and on the road. Keep these simple “chiropractic breakthroughs” in mind as your go about your daily duties: Making your bed. Bend at the knees and not at the waist—a simple but effective way to stay pain-free. Keeping your closet organized. I bet most folks with backaches never give any thought to how they keep their closet. Minimize reaching high or low for items. Store shoes in a shoe bag on the door to save bending and stooping. Washing dishes. Leaning over the sink can be painful. Stand close to the sink to minimize reaching. Shift your weight from one foot to the other. Stand on a foam or rubber mat to reduce strain. Vacuuming. Shop for a vacuum that you can push with minimal exertion. Old vacuums frequently weigh a ton and that can strain. Raking leaves. Use a leaf blower; beats a hand rake any day! A lightweight leaf blower might save you more than a few calluses.
Nutrition Breakthroughs!
Making the Most of Your Morning and Midday Break
An article in Cooking Light (March 2002) recently got me to thinking about a bad habit many us, including me, have developed in recent years. I believe it has something to do with the hurry sickness that everyone in America seems to have today and our habit of skipping meals or eating wrong when time is tight. You know what I am talking about—the hurry we’re all in everyday that sometimes precludes eating properly. For many the first thing to suffer is eating right. According to a survey by the National Restaurant Association, “40 percent of full-time employees usually don’t take a full lunch break, and 27.3 percent spend their time doing something other than eating.” As unassuming as this sounds, think about the nutritional impacts. If you’re not taking time to eat regularly or eat right one or two meals a day then you could be missing out on many of the vitamins and minerals essential to a healthy body. Cooking Light offers these suggestions designed to encourage better eating and taking the time to eat right: 1. Eat with others. Make taking time to eat properly fun. 2. Eat what you like. Choose food you like, but that’s good for you, and truly enjoy, not just something to fill you up till later. 3. Make good choices. A BLT v. PB&J may seem like a no-brainer, but the BLT is chock-full of saturated fat—not good. With the New Year upon us, make taking time to eat and eat right a priority. Look at breakfast and lunch as a time to practice a little downtime, savor a few moments to yourself or just relax. You may enjoy it so much you’ll never miss a meal again!
Fast Facts for Life!
According to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (Jan. 2003), chiropractic is one of the most popular therapies for backache. “It’s the preferred treatment for 40% of back-pain suffers, or 25 million people annually. We couldn’t have said it better!
Successful Living Breakthroughs!
Sleep restores. Don’t think of sleep as unproductive time. Think of it as time to heal, time to restore your physical and mental energy—an essential component to maintaining good spirits and good posture.
Patients for Life • February 2003
Page 1
Breakthroughs/Fast Facts for Life
Keeping Back Pain at Bay
Mind Your Mattress
Most of my patients do as much as they can to keep back pain at bay. They lift carefully. They exercise. They visit their chiropractor regularly. But for some all this isn’t enough. No amount of clean living, no amount of exercise is enough. You’re only as good as the bed on which you lay your head. No, I do not own stock in a mattress company, but it’s true. You can do everything right and still experience discomfort if the bed you are spending 8 hours a night on is bad. Case history. A patient of mine, we’ll call him Paul, has been seeing me for years. He’s what you’d call a “regular” chiropractic customer. In other words, he comes whether he is in pain or not— smart! Working together we’ve made great progress and he is pain-free most of the time, but a number of years ago he found that his back was still bothering him. The culprit? It was his bed. Paul had purchased his mattress more 15 years earlier. As he describes it, “He was poor as a church mouse at that time.” Translation: He bought an inexpensive bed. You know the type, the kind advertised commonly at artificially low prices like $399 for the set. In the beginning it was good. For many years Paul’s bed served him fine but at a certain point it developed a sway in the middle and when he sat on the edge he slid off. Time for a new bed! The trick is to find a quality mattress and box spring that molds to the spine rather than the other way around. Fortunately, there are more choices than ever and many companies manufacture bedding expressly designed for people with bad backs. Shop around and sample as many beds as you can. Check the phone book for local companies that manufacture custom bedding. It may be worth the investment.
Living Well: Vitamin & Mineral Nutrition
Perk up Your Diet with Delightful Additions
Let’s face it. Eating right is hard. Temptations are everywhere and what do many less-than-nutritious treats promise? Flavor and lots of it. Ask any experienced dieter and they’ll tell you that as strong as the craving for food is the craving for flavor is as great. The good news is that our natural craving for flavor need not be unhealthy to satisfy. Scenario No. 1. You and your family have resolved to eat better and your brood is staring down a plain green salad. Before someone reaches for the calorie and fat-laden blue cheese dressing stop! Try adding a few kalamata olives and a few jarred, roasted red peppers all dressed with an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Scenario No. 2. Nobody likes super-good-for-you steamed veggies when faced with French fries as an alternative. Instead of steaming veggies, wash, slice and brush with a little olive oil. Season with ground pepper and grill. If you are really feeling decadent and wanting to get your family to eat asparagus, try this simple but nutritious take on this familiar vegetable. I guarantee this recipe will put the phrase “eat your veggies” in a whole new light! BAKED ASPARAGUS WITH CHEESE Take a bunch of fresh asparagus, trim or break off the ends and wash. Dry carefully. Mix half a cup of seasoned breadcrumbs with two or three tablespoons of grated cheese (I like Parmesan or Romano). Layer asparagus in a glass dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle mixture of breadcrumbs and cheese on top and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in a hot over till the breadcrumbs brown and the asparagus is soft.
Fascinating Facts!
You can eat healthier without sacrificing all of your favorite foods
and recipes. With a little creativity, almost any food can be made better for you. Consider these substitutions: Skim, 1% or 2% milk for whole milk or cream Olive oil or canola oil for butter, lard or shortening Low-fat yogurt for mayonnaise or sour cream Don’t forget you can experiment with cooking techniques, too. Try convection baking or roasting in lieu of frying in fat. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results!
Patients for Life • February 2003
Page 2
Important News about You!
Referrals Mean the World to Us!
They say that every dissatisfied customer tells ten people about their dissatisfaction. However, a satisfied customer only tells a handful of people about their successful experience. In our practice, we recognize that happy, well cared for patients are vital to our success. That’s why we dedicate this space to say thank you to all of our patients and friends who have so kindly made referrals to our office. We may not get the chance to say thanks in person, but we take every referral as a compliment and high praise for the job we’re doing. Your trust and confidence means the world to us! Thank you to following patients for sending us a referral:
Welcome to our Practice
Patients are the lifeblood of our practice. In today’s day and age where so much of health care revolves around insurance companies and HMOs, we want you to know that in our office patients come first. We proudly welcome:
Daniel Evangelista Joe Frazzano Angelique Wewel Josephine Palomores Bill Gum Alfred Burks Rajesh Paulose Linda Sagneep Thessie Macalolooy
Marianne Stole Dana Moore Rowland Yerkes Vijaya Verauri Don Whittaker Salina Noble Lynn Alsup Arvinder Sran Linda Gow
We are glad to be of service.
Erlina Arevalo Jennifer Shutz Chris Gum Sara Secal Dr. Paul Sandhu Dr. Ajit Sandhu
Let’s Wish Happy Birthday to the Following Patients!
Michelle Enoy Mario Ballestrasse Talia Crowell Vanessa Parra Diane Ferrell Mary Gonzales Yvonne Atienza Ramiro Coronado Danie Bierman Susan Shin Freida Robinson Peter Wemm Richard Ryan Melissa Grennan Angie Smith Bobbi Marek James Brevig Giani Passacco Antonio Manalastas David Rhodes
Family/Personal/ Community News
PROTECT YOUR FAMILY Is the AIR you BREATH making you SICK?
(check out the enclosed flyer) How much CONTAMINATION in the WATER is okay with YOU?
(check out the enclosed flyer)
Free Reports, Yours for the Asking!!!
Our office has published a couple of critical reports regarding accidents and injuries. These reports were brought about due to patient demand. The reports give you the in and out of Auto Accidents and Work Injuries. For a free report come by the office and ask Angelica or call the 24 hours toll free message below for more information.
Health Success Story of the Month!
Auto Accident?
Free Call: (888) 362-7056
New FCG Wellness Club Plans
Discounted Wellness Club rates for Massage and Wellness Chiropractic Visits.
Work Injury?
Free Call: (800) 959-4425
Patients for Life • February 2003
Massage Therapy
Now Available in our San Ramon and Fremont Offices. See Special Coupon. Page 3
Fitness & Successful Living Breakthroughs
Fitness for All…
Housework Counts!
Too often we fall into the trap of thinking that for exercise to be any good it has to be some form of disciplined, structured activity. You know what I mean, along the lines of running a mile, going to the gym or playing a sport. In actuality, all body movement counts as exercise. That includes the simple and sublime activities of everyday life that we all do. Consider this. With spring around the corner, many of us spend untold hours outside working around the house or yard. Now, if you’re like me, you automatically discount those activities because they don’t fall into the traditional “exercise” mold that was ingrained into our heads when we were kids in gym class. But stop and think for a minute: How do you feel after a day in the yard? Tired? Maybe a few muscle aches? Now ask yourself how you feel after running, working out or playing a game of hoops? I bet it’s not much different. One more paradigm: Everyday housework. I love busting paradigms—established patterns of thinking that guide and control our lives. Housework is another must-do task that takes time and energy. We all do it but I bet if you surveyed a hundred people 90 percent would not list housework as a source of exercise in their life. A few fascinating facts. Scrubbing floors burns 6.2 calories a minute. Washing clothes burns around 4 calories a minute. Even grocery shopping counts—3.8 calories for every minute behind a shopping cart. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Win Dinner for You and Your Guests on Us!
Here’s how it works. I will ask you a simple, yet intriguing, health question. You need only to call us and give us your best-shot answer. The best answer (in our opinion) will win fabulous restaurant tickets for you and your guest… and another couple. FREE! (I will pay you to pay attention to your health each month. What other doctor does that?) Last month’s winner was Leah Talbert from San Ramon, Ca. She and her friends won dinner for four because she answered the following question correctly. Question: How many calories are in 12-ounce beer? Answer: 150 calories. This month’s question: Scrubbing floors burns how many calories?
Referrals Mean the World to Us!
I consider it a privilege to be trusted with the health care of my patients. In fact, there are some weeks we are so busy that we have to extend our hours or stay late just to see everyone! Why have we grown so fast? It’s because of patients like you who refer friends, family and co-workers. I don’t often have the chance to say thanks for all your support and friendship, but I really do appreciate it. I consider it a pleasure to work with my patients. That’s why I am always so interested in your feedback on this newsletter and any questions you may have about your health, nutrition and chiropractic. Please feel free to call—even if it’s only to get an answer to a quick question. Remember that we are available when you need us, so call anytime! I look forward to seeing you.
A Very Special Offer for Readers of this Newsletter
Once again, my staff and I would like to do something special for our valued patients. When you call us before February 28, 2003, you may use this coupon for one free Family Chiropractic Adjustment Visit worth up to $150.00. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. So, please take advantage of this special “Patient Appreciation” coupon— today. Also, please feel free to call my office with any questions you may have regarding anything in this newsletter. We’re here to help. Call us at (800) 950-1620 and tell Angelica that you’d like to schedule your appointment.
Patients for Life • February 2003
Page 4