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Taking your Healthcare Out-of-the-box.

Courtesy of Pexels
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC,
Board Certified Chiropractic Physician.
“If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got.” That quote has been attributed to several people, including Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, and Mark Twain. Although the origin of the saying is not known for certain, the wisdom of it continues to ring true. The principle can be applied widely, and it certainly applies to healthcare.
If watching TV for ten hours a day while munching on junk food and drinking sweet carbonated beverages has contributed to you being fifty or more pounds’ overweight, continuing the same behavior will probably increase your weight even more. On the other hand, if exercising regularly and eating good foods that have been minimally processed has resulted in you maintaining a healthy weight and having good health, continuing that behavior will probably continue to produce similar results for you.

Recipes for a Healthy Thanksgiving

By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The First Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in November of 1621. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians gathered for a feast to celebrate the autumn harvest. While the meal may have featured turkey, there was probably some other fowl as well, including ducks, geese, and swans. Yum, yum. There may also have been seafood including lobster, clams, and oysters.
Some of the locally grown and organic vegetables for the meal were probably onions, beans, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and carrots. Fruits for the meal may have been blueberries, plums, grapes, raspberries, and cranberries. It really sounds like a fairly healthy meal.
Thanksgiving is one of our country’s great traditions. It’s also one of the biggest holidays of the year for most Americans. Getting together with family and friends for a big delicious meal is something most people enjoy. However, many people enjoy the food so much that they tend to overdo it.
Portion Control - Eat, drink, and be merry, within reason
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Some people like to get a serving of every food presented. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, green beans, baked beans, peas, carrots, a biscuit, a piece of cornbread, a piece of garlic bread, a little dark meat, a little white meat, stuffing, apple pie, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, Boston cream pie, etc. With the wide variety of foods available at many Thanksgiving dinners, all those servings can add up to double or triple the calories of a normal meal.
Here’s a tip: You don’t have to try everything. Also, eating and eating and eating till you can barely move isn’t all that enjoyable. Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you should forget your health objectives, especially if one of those is to control your weight. So, at some point, you just have to put down the fork down and step away from the table.
Trigger Foods
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
One of the things NutriMost patients learn about is trigger foods. Trigger foods are the foods that cause people to pack on the pounds quickly. They’re not all the same for everybody either. For one person, peanut butter may be a problem. For someone else, pizza might be a problem. With some trigger foods, once you get started it’s hard to stop. For example, Oreo cookies can be a problem for some people, especially if there’s some milk to go with them. In order to avoid your trigger foods, you must first become aware of what they are.
One way to develop an awareness about trigger foods and how they affect you is to keep a close eye on the scale. If your weight is up two pounds one morning, whatever you had for dinner, the night before might be a problem. If you know what your trigger foods are before Thanksgiving, you’ll know what to avoid. It could be the bread, or the potatoes, or the apple pie. For most people, green beans are probably OK. In any case, if you want to wake up raring to go for a full day of extreme shopping on Black Friday, you might consider avoiding your trigger foods.



Thanksgiving Recipes
There are lots of great foods that are delicious, and that won’t put you off course in terms of your weight. In fact, we’ve posted a file with over a dozen great Thanksgiving recipes on our Facebook page. The recipes include:
Thanksgiving Baked Chicken or Turkey: 170 calories per serving.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Ingredients for one serving:  3.5 oz chicken or turkey breast, ½ c Swanson chicken stock, 1 T chopped onion, a pinch of sage, a pinch of marjoram, a pinch of thyme, pink salt, and pepper to taste.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix spices together in small bowl
3. Dip meat into broth and coat with spices
4. Transfer to baking dish
5. Add chopped onion and rest of broth to bottom of the pan
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked thoroughly
Dairy-free Deviled Eggs: 150 calories per serving.
Ingredients for one serving: 2 hardboiled eggs, halved, four t dijon mustard, 1/3 t apple cider vinegar, 2-4 drops liquid stevia, 1/16 teaspoon garlic powder, dash of salt, dash of pepper
Directions:
1. Scoop egg yolks into a bowl and set egg whites aside.
2. Mash yolks, vinegar, mustard, stevia, garlic powder, pepper, and salt.
3. Spoon yolk mixture into egg whites.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Lemon Garlic
Lemon Garlic Crockpot Chicken: 182 calories per serving.
Ingredients for four servings:
Four chicken breasts, 4 T minced onion, two lemons, a whole garlic bulb, two tablespoons of thyme, 2 cups chicken broth or stock, salt and pepper.
Directions:
1. Pour chicken broth into crockpot
2. Place chicken breasts in crockpot
3. Sprinkle minced onion and a little salt and pepper onto each chicken breast
4. Peel and chop all of the garlic cloves and sprinkle on top of the chicken breasts.
5. Slice the lemons and placed them on the chicken breasts
6. Sprinkle thyme on top
7. Put the lid on and set the timer for 6 hours on low
Mustard Baked Chicken: 165 calories per serving.
Ingredients for two servings:
7 oz chicken breast, 1/4 c. Brown mustard, 1/2 T. Bragg's liquid aminos, two pkts. SweetLeaf Stevia
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Line baking dish with parchment paper
3. Place chicken, smooth side up into the baking dish
4. In a small bowl stir together mustard, liquid aminos, and stevia
5. Brush mustard mixture generously over each chicken breast
6. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until no longer pink, brushing with mustard mixture half way through cooking
Life In Balance and NutriMost
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we now offer a program that brings all the key components for wellness together under one roof. Our Life In Balance Program addresses weight and nutrition, fitness and exercise, musculoskeletal health, and more. Our goal is to help patients get their lives into balance and to give them all the tools they need to stay in balance. If you have any questions about the Life In Balance Program and you’d like to find out how it can help you, please call to set up an appointment.
NutriMost is a fat loss program that has enabled many people to lose twenty pounds or more in just forty days. Instead of putting on five or ten pounds through the holiday season, you could actually lose twenty pounds or more by January. Wouldn’t that be a nice way to start the year? If you’d like to learn more about NutriMost, check out our website or call to set up an appointment.  
Schedule a Free Tytron Scan at Vibrant Life Health Center.
Vibrant Life Health Center is currently offering free Tytron scans through the end of November. See for yourself how this amazing device works and how it can help you to get your body back into balance. If you have acute or chronic pain and you’d like to find out how chiropractic can help, set up an appointment with Dr. Thomas at the Vibrant Life Health Center.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of detoxification, call Vibrant Life Health Center. If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, let Dr. Thomas explain how the NutriMost program has helped many people lose twenty to forty pounds or more in just forty days. And if you’d like to check out the Life In Balance plan which can address every area of a patient’s health, call Vibrant Life to set up an appointment.
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In this article, I have discussed what people ate on the first Thanksgiving and how to eat healthier for Thanksgiving now. I’ve also given a few great recipes for Thanksgiving foods that will match up with your weight and fitness objectives.
If you have a comment about this article, please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone who might benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your friends and colleagues, as well as on social media.
The Google Plus button and other social media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all the key elements to add vibrance and vitality to your life. This includes nutrition, Chiropractic care, and fitness. If you need to consult with a chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other health concern, please contact our office to set up an appointment.

Courtesy of Vibrant Life Health Center
Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center is located in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively toward a body that functions optimally. Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles to improve the health of residents throughout Northeast Florida

Why Detoxing Your Body is Important

By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Wikimedia Commons
Some people say that what you don’t know won’t hurt you. In fact, when it comes to toxins in the body, what you don’t know can make you sick or kill you. Radon gas, drinking water contaminated with lead, car exhaust, and chemicals seeping into the water supply from landfills are a few examples of toxic substances that will hurt you.
Surprisingly, people also consume toxins in a variety of foods if they’re not paying attention. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but not if the daily apple is coated with pesticides! Our bodies have been designed to naturally remove toxins.  However, if we are not carefully avoiding or limiting our exposure to toxic substances (medicines, processed foods, cleaners, air pollution, etc.), our bodies can become overloaded with toxins. 
Our world is becoming more and more toxic with the level of synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and man made ingredients creating toxic load our bodies sometimes can’t remove. Toxins accumulate over time. A toxic body is an unhealthy body. Toxins affect how the body operates. Among other things, toxins can have a significant impact on a person’s ability or inability to lose weight. The good news is that you can reduce your exposure to chemicals and take positive steps to detoxify.


What is a toxic substance?
Substances that cause health problems are considered toxic. People don’t generally drink ammonia or eat rat poison because they know that it’s harmful to consume those items. Products that people use every day, like household cleaners, prescription drugs, gasoline, alcohol, and even artificial sweetners can also be harmful. It’s not as easy to avoid all of those as it is to avoid the most obvious toxins.
People take in toxins by breathing gasses, vapors, or dust. As I’ve mentioned, people also take in toxins by drinking or eating them. Substances can be ingested, absorbed into the blood, and then transported throughout the body. The more you do to avoid taking in toxins in the first place, the healthier you will be.  
How can you detoxify your body?
Courtesy of Vibrant Life
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we teach patients how to detox their systems. Using fresh and locally grown produce in your diet is a great way to avoid many toxins. Since produce that is grown nearby doesn’t have to be shipped very far, no preservatives are required. Also, if you shop at a farmers’ market, you can actually talk to a farmer about how he or she grows produce, what kind of fertilizer is used, etc. That information can really help people to make wise decisions about what they are putting into their bodies.
Food supplements can also be helpful for detoxifying. The key is to get the highest quality supplements from someone you trust. There are lots of supplements on the market, and they vary in quality. The way they are made can make a tremendous difference. Members of my own family and I use many of the supplements offered at Vibrant Life Health Center. I wouldn’t offer anything that I would not use for my own family.
Chiropractic care is also very effective for removing toxins. When the vertebrae of the spine are in their proper alignment, the central nervous system can function properly. Along with everything else the nervous system does, it also sends messages throughout the body to get rid of any toxins. Chiropractic adjustments release toxins that have built up. Releasing those toxins improves energy levels.
Can toxins affect weight?
Courtesy of Vibrant Life
Carrying excess fat around the abdomen, hips, and thighs is usually a sign of a hormonal imbalance. No amount of dieting or exercise can correct this problem. Hormonal balance is one of the keys to weight gain and weight loss. Hormones control the metabolism, food cravings, fat burning, and more. Hormone imbalances are caused by disrupting chemicals.
The World Health Organization refers to these disrupting chemicals as “obesogens.” Nearly 800 different chemicals are obesogens. They alter components of the hormonal system that control weight gain. They also interfere with the functionality of the metabolism, fat storage, bone development, and the immune system.
Over 60% of Americans are overweight. Obesity can be a result of genetics and/or behavior. However, it is ultimately controlled by the endocrine system. Shampoos, toothpaste, lotions, soaps, cleaning products, and many other common household items can contain chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system.
Most weight loss programs focus primarily on the diet. Diet is very important, but another key to weight loss is getting the body operating properly. NutriMost is a program which focuses not only on diet and losing weight. NutriMost also addresses how the body is working so that patients can keep the weight off after they have lost it.
Some people have chemicals in their bodies that disrupt hormones and neurotransmitters. When that happens, the body becomes resistant to shedding pounds. NutriMost identifies the chemicals in patients’ bodies that are causing them to store fat instead of burning it.
An assessment measures vitamins, minerals, toxins, and many other components. Once any chemical imbalances have been identified, we put together a personalized plan for getting the body back into balance. Removing toxins from the body is one of the things that sets NutriMost apart from other weight loss programs. Detoxification enables a person to burn fat naturally.
Life In Balance
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we now offer a program that brings all the key components for wellness together under one roof. Our Life In Balance Program addresses weight and nutrition, fitness and exercise, musculoskeletal health, and more. Our goal is to help patients get their lives into balance and to give them all the tools they need to stay in balance. If you have any questions about the Life In Balance Program and you’d like to find out how it can help you, please call to set up an appointment.
Schedule a Free Tytron Scan at Vibrant Life Health Center.
Courtesy of Tytronics
Vibrant Life Health Center is currently offering free Tytron scans through the end of November. See for yourself how this amazing non-invasive device works and how it can help you to get your body back into balance. If you have acute or chronic pain and you’d like to find out how chiropractic can help, set up an appointment with Dr. Thomas at the Vibrant Life Health Center.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of detoxification, call Vibrant Life Health Center. If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, let Dr. Thomas explain how the NutriMost program has helped hundreds of people lose twenty to forty pounds or more in just forty days. If you’d like to check out the Life In Balance plan which can address every area of a patient’s health, call Vibrant Life to set up an appointment.
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In this article, I have discussed the ways that toxins can get into a person’s body and how those toxins can affect a person’s health. I’ve also discussed various ways of getting toxins out of the body.
If you have a comment about this article, please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone who might benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your friends, family and colleagues on social media.
The Google Plus button and other social media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all of the key elements to add vibrance and vitality to your life. This includes nutrition, Chiropractic care, and fitness. If you need to consult with a chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other health concern, please contact our office to set up an appointment.

Courtesy of Vibrant Life 
Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board-Certified Chiropractic Physician. His practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center, is located in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively toward a body that functions optimally. Dr. Thomas is regularly seen on TV on First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles to improve the health of residents throughout Northeast Florida.

Scariest Health Problems People Face!

By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of Danny Murphy
Halloween has come and gone. Now, The Agricultural Fair is in town. From candy corn to cotton candy to deep fried Twinkies, some of the things that people eat at this time of year are absolutely spooky! I urge people to think about what they’re consuming and to avoid things that will have negative health consequences.
As people age, many face health challenges that they never had to think about when they were younger. The good news is that there are things a person can do to avoid many of the health problems associated with aging. The even better news is that help is available. With that in mind, here are some of the scariest health problems people face as they grow older.
General decline in health leading to inability to take care of oneself
Courtesy of Vibrant Life
Health Center
Many people take their health for granted until something goes wrong. As people age, there can be a tendency for more and more to go wrong. The bad habits, unhealthy diets, and lack of exercise begin to take their toll in the form of serious health problems. Eventually, many who have taken care of themselves and others for decades get to the point where they can no longer live independent lives.
Since most people enjoy having the ability to take care of themselves, losing that ability is very scary. The good news is that if you establish a plan with long term and short term goals you can maintain a healthy weight, enjoy the ability to exercise, and keep your body in top shape! You can maintain an optimal level of health right through to the end, or very close to it.  


Loss of memory and mental acuity, Alzheimer’s Disease
As people age, many do lose their mental sharpness and their ability to remember things. Many people have family members or friends who appear to be losing their memory a little more each day. When someone you’ve loved for your whole life forgets who you are, it’s truly frightening. The prospect of that happening to oneself is truly terrifying.
Consuming the right nutrients and staying physically active are two of the keys to maintaining mental fitness. Sitting on the couch, eating potato chips, and watching whatever shows up on the screen will not keep a person mentally healthy. 
For optimal mental health, it’s very important to stay in the game by continuing to learn new things. Nourishing the mind is just as important as eating the right foods. The more people do that, the less likely they are to see a decline in their mental capabilities.  
Being overweight and being unable to lose excess weight
Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion and remain healthy. If you don’t believe it, check out a few videos of Jack LaLanne, the godfather of fitness. Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest and pack on the pounds. If you don’t believe that, take a look at some of your neighbors, family members, or friends. For most people, body metabolism changes as they age. When people reach their 30s, 40s, and 50s, they usually don’t burn calories as fast as they did in their 20s. This is why it becomes more difficult for most people to lose weight as they age.
When people begin the NutriMost Weight Loss program at Vibrant Life Health Center, we measure their weight and we measure their bodies in key areas. One other thing we measure is metabolic age. We do this at the beginning of the program and then again at the end. Invariably, after successfully completing forty days in the program, a person’s metabolic age has been substantially reduced, usually by a decade or more.
This is very important because losing weight is only part of the equation. To achieve permanent weight loss, a person needs to learn the in’s and out’s of their personal metabolism. Patients who go through our Programs weather its Life in Balance, NutriMost, or even Functional Medicine we show people this key component to long term health and vitality! Taking a decade or more off one’s metabolic age is one of the keys to keeping the weight off. Taking the weight off and keeping it off is also one of the best things a person can do to avoid many conditions associated with age, including diabetes, arthritis, and many other diseases.  



Heart attack, heart disease, stroke
Courtesy of NutriMost
A healthy cardiovascular system is an essential component of good health. When heart disease sets in, the body can’t function properly. When the blood is carrying things that can build up in the form of plaque in blood vessels, a person can suffer a stroke which can cause brain damage and disrupt the nervous system in such a way that parts of the body cease to function properly.  A heart attack caused by hardening of the arteries can maim or kill.
The foods we consume have an enormous impact on cardiovascular health. They can help to keep things flowing properly or they can create blockages. It’s so important to keep this in mind as we choose what to eat and what not to eat. Also, exercise is extremely important for heart health. A good fitness program can certainly contribute to keeping a heart strong and extending a person’s life expectancy.
Loss of balance resulting in falls and broken limbs
Wikimedia Commons
The thought of falling and not being able to get up is one of the scariest things of all. Remember the commercial? A good sense of balance that keeps one from falling is certainly one of the things people take for granted until they take a tumble. As people age, they do sometimes lose the sense of balance they had when they were younger. To make matters worse, bones can break more easily as we get older, and when they do it takes longer for them to heal.
Maintaining a healthy weight and staying fit can definitely help a person to keep his or her sense of balance throughout life. Another thing that is very important for maintaining a sense of balance is musculoskeletal health. The bones and muscles not only affect the way we move it also plays a key role in brain/body communication. While many people think of chiropractic care primarily as the answer to injuries, routine adjustments can provide a tremendous health benefit.
Life In Balance
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we now offer a program that brings all the key components for wellness together under one roof. Our Life In Balance Program addresses weight and nutrition, fitness and exercise, musculoskeletal health, and more. Our goal is to help patients get their lives into balance and to give them all the tools they need to stay in balance. If you have any questions about the Life In Balance Program and you’d like to find out how it can help you, please call to set up an appointment.
Call to schedule a Free Tytron Scan at Vibrant Life Health Center this November.
Courtesy of
Vibrant Life Health Center
Vibrant Life Health Center is currently offering free Tytron scans through the end of November. See for yourself how this amazing device works and how it can help you to get your body back into balance. If you have acute or chronic pain and you’d like to find out how chiropractic can help, set up an appointment with Dr. Thomas at the Vibrant Life Health Center.
If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, let Dr. Thomas explain how the NutriMost program has helped many people lose twenty to forty pounds or more in just forty days. And if you’d like to check out the Life In Balance plan which can address every area of a patient’s health, call Vibrant Life to set up an appointment.
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In this article, I have discussed some of the scariest health problems people face as they grow older. I’ve also discussed the various ways people can reduce their risk of health challenges many people face as they age. 
If you have a comment about this article, please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone who might benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and also on social media.
The Google Plus button and other social media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all of the key elements to add vibrance and vitality to your life. This includes nutrition, Chiropractic care, and fitness. If you need to consult with a chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other health concern, please contact our office to set up an appointment.

Courtesy of Vibrant Life
Health Center
Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center, is located in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively toward a body that functions optimally. Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles to improve the health of residents throughout Northeast Florida.