Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven consecutive times.There are many reasons for his victories, but a major influence is a 100% functioning nervous system.How is it that a man dominated the race this perfect?It is my opinion that one of his greatest assets is a healthy nervous system.Gray’s Anatomy states that the nervous system is the master controller of the body, which controls every gland, organ and tissue in the body.Any interference in the nervous system will decrease the function of the body therefore causing abnormal function.On tour Dr. Jeff Spencer, D.C. was Lance’s and his teams personal Chiropractor. (more…)

Posture is a major contributor to our overall health as proper posture represents muscular balance. We are all familiar seeing people who have rounded shoulders and a forward head posture. This represents chronic tightening of the chest and anterior (front) shoulder muscles, along with weakening of the shoulder blade muscles (mainly the trapezius muscle group). Chronic poor posture will cause stress and fatigue which can affect our mental health.

An area that is often neglected when it comes to posture is thoracic mobility. Your thoracic spine runs the length of the rib cage, hence there are 12 ribs and 12 thoracic vertebrae. Due to the stiff nature of the ribs, the thoracic vertebrae do not have much room to move. However chronic overuse of the crunch exercise along with too many upper body pushing exercises will promote thoracic kyphosis.

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Mirror, mirror on the wall…who has the best posture of them all? Through an old fairy tale I try to bring together what we may not notice in the mirror and a better health experience. Every day when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we look at our posture. Our posture, whether good or bad, is the window to our health. As part of my daily life, I enjoy looking at people’s posture. Depending on his/her posture, I am enlightened to the health of the patient. (more…)

As promised, Iluminar is going to have 2 guest bloggers for the next few weeks! Graham Jaeggi and Dr. Thomas Tuzzolino are going to give us their insight on some really great topics! To start off, they both want to give you guys an intro to who they are and what they do:

Graham Jaeggi

Hi, I am Graham Jaeggi, the Strength and Conditioning Trainer for Foothills Sports Medicine on Tatum and Bell. I have trained individuals for over 6 years, with 4 years here in Phoenix. Corrective exercise and functional exercise are key areas when it comes to effectively exercising. Corrective exercise involves using appropriate movements to restore muscular balance, reducing the likeliness of injuries associated with sports and exercise.
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It’s hot and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving cold, creamy desserts! I’m going to try not to go overboard this year (keyword: try), and choose quality over quantity!

Frozen yogurt

• A lot of places claim to have probiotics in their product, but most of the time they are not live and active so you won’t benefit from them L
• Most froyo is low-fat or fat-free, but this is not necessarily a good thing. When these desserts don’t have much fat, they have other things to give them the texture that you like; these additives can be worse for you than fat! Also, your average froyo has between 13 and 20 grams of sugar per half cup serving. Most cups at self-serve restaurants is 16 ounces, so if you filled this you would end up with about 80 grams of sugar… 80 grams would be 16 teaspoons just to put this in perspective!
• If you are craving froyo, check out Tasti D-Lite, which contains only 13 grams of sugar per half cup serving.

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Today I want to talk to you guys about food. Many of us suffer from migraines, digestive problems, arthritis, depression, asthma, skin issues, fatigue, or have a hard time losing weight even though we’re eating healthy. One thing you may not have considered is that your body is reacting to some of the healthy foods, and any of these symptoms could be the result. Food sensitivities are extremely common, and many people don’t know that they have them because symptoms are not as pronounced as traditional food allergies. However, sensitivities contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases and degenerative conditions. (more…)

Everyone loves vacations, whether it’s camping, a cruise, or staying in a hotel, we all need that time to relax and enjoy ourselves. However, what I don’t like about vacations is coming back with my jeans fitting tighter! It can be really hard to eat right when you are away from home and going to restaurants for so many meals, but I’ve gathered some tips so that we can all have waistline friendly vacations this year!

1. Don’t go out to eat for every meal. This can be difficult when staying in a hotel, but at least bring your own food for breakfast and snacks. Cram some fruit, veggies, and yogurt in the mini fridge and bring some nuts to snack on if you get hungry. (more…)

I’ve decided that good workout attire is totally underrated. It’s time to toss the baggy t-shirts and sweatpants and get clothing that looks cute and is functional! Here are my top 4 reasons for investing in real workout gear:

1. Good workout clothing is moisture wicking and will pull the sweat off of your body instead of trapping it on your skin and clogging every pore.

2. Have you ever seen those people that look like they peed their pants because they wore grey cotton pants? Good clothes don’t do this. (more…)

It’s starting to get hot, and we all know the key to getting through an Arizona summer is to get away for a few days. Luckily, there are plenty of places locally to “get away” and beat the heat. Also, most of the resorts here in Phoenix have really great summer specials that include resort credits, spa packages, and activities for kids if you want to bring the whole family. Click here for an article with details on Phoenix resort specials. (more…)