Dear Patients and Friends:

When you feel a cold or sore throat coming on, or are bothered by an ache or a pain, do you rely on medication for comfort? Be careful.

All medicines, even over-the-counter drugs and herbal preparations, are potentially dangerous. This is true especially when you combine medications, or even take them with certain foods. Everyday foods like broccoli, milk, and fruit juice can lead to life-threatening interactions with popular medications.

Your quick-relief pain killer may cause liver problems. Your cholesterol drug can react poorly with your morning grapefruit juice. Your antihistamine and herbal supplement can combine to cause heart problems. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that adverse drug reactions are a leading cause of death in the United States, lurking closely behind heart disease and cancer.

Your body is a highly complex intelligent organism, with millions of individual and sensitive components. When you take a drug designed to change one of those components, or to block symptoms of another, you may be adversely affecting another part of your body's INNATE wisdom and you may not see the damage until it's too late.

Your best prescription for health is a varied diet of plenty of nutritious foods and supplements, fresh air and proper exercise. Supplements should be food source not synthetic and support whole systems not symptoms. Of course we also recommend regular chiropractic adjustments.

Your body is designed to be healthy. Chiropractic can help eliminate the obstacles to vibrant health. Chiropractic adjustments work with the body to align the spine and optimize the central nervous system, allowing your body to work at peak efficiency - and peak health.

Our purpose is to serve you and support you in reclaiming and maintaining optimal health. Our glyconutritional support products assist in:

supporting cell-to-cell communication which is fundamental to well-being,
supporting the body’s immune system, and
supporting the endocrine system’s natural production and balance of hormones.
Click here for more information on glyconutritional products, and while your there, dare to take our Lifestyle Awareness Survey™ which will help you find and focus on where you have the most potential for lifestyle improvement. May you be blessed with abundant health!

Yours for better health, naturally.

Dr. Jackie St.Cyr - Your Chiropractor

Keep Out of Reach of Children. We're all familiar with that warning, which graces virtually every prescription and over-the-counter drug on the market. But are these medications that much safer in the hands of adults? Do you know the side effects of common drugs prescribed to our kids today?

No matter how carefully a medication has been designed or tested, danger still exists. Even such "wonder drugs" as penicillin can kill if a person is allergic to them. And you can't tell that you're allergic until you try it. Seemingly harmless things like licorice and salt substitutes can play havoc with common prescriptions.

While there is no 100% sure protection besides abstinence, there are some simple steps that can make you safer.

Inform your doctor. Make sure your physician knows exactly what you're taking, and how much of it. Bring along your bottles, if necessary. Keep a log of any and all reactions you have to any drug, herb, food, or combination, and report all of your findings to your doctor.

Inform yourself. When you purchase an over-the-counter medication or herbal remedy, or receive a prescription drug, carefully read the label and the patient information insert. Read all of it, no matter how small the type. Pay special attention to the "contraindications" section - see if you are part of any group that is known to have problems with the drug. Consider whether the known side effects outweigh the benefits. Learn the reaction symptoms to look for. Check drug reference books and internet databases to make sure that all medications you're taking are compatible. And by all means, ask questions! Don't be embarrassed about taking a doctor's or pharmacist's time - your health is your greatest gift, and is of utmost importance.

Monitor the process. If your physician is prescribing a medication, write down all the information yourself. Ask to make sure you've spelled it right, and that you have the correct dosages and refill information. Many new drugs have similar names, and we've all heard the jokes about doctors' handwriting. When you have a prescription filled, check the drug name and dosage information against your notes. Mistakes can have tragic consequences.

Try natural remedies. This doesn't mean looking for the word "natural" on a bottle of vitamins (there are no regulations for calling a product natural, and that word on a label simply doesn't mean anything). Instead, we mean such tried and true actions as taking a nap or using a cold compress to ease a headache. Slow and gentle stretching to alleviate a muscle ache. A brisk walk around the block to bring back flagging energy. A warm saltwater gargle to comfort a sore throat. Better yet, a chiropractic adjustment to keep your body's own healing mechanisms at full potential.

Remember, health comes from within. It is not found in a bottle - and what is in that bottle could be dangerous.

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