Dear Steve,

DID YOU KNOW that pregnant women eating modern diets are missing key nutrients needed for them and their babies?

A study from PLOS Medicine that examined more than 1,700 women found most were missing vitamins, many found in animal protein, including B12, B6 and D, folic acid and riboflavin which are essential for the development of fetuses in the womb.

According to the lead author, "The push to reduce our dependence on animal protein to achieve net-zero carbon emissions is likely to further deplete expecting mothers of vital nutrients, which could have lasting effects on unborn children. Our study shows that almost every woman trying to conceive had insufficient levels of one or more vitamin, and this figure is only going to get worse as the world moves towards plant-based diets. People think that nutrient deficiency only affects people in underdeveloped countries, but it is also affecting the majority of women living in high-income nations."

One positive result of the study showed that quality prenatal supplements reduce vitamin insufficiencies during the preconception, pregnancy and lactational periods.

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Steve: When it comes to fertility or lack thereof, often the focus is on the woman. This must change.

New research from Andrology has demonstrated that it takes at least three months at minimum for the effects of alcohol consumption to leave the father's sperm. Because of this, it's crucial that couples planning on getting pregnant know how far in advance to stop drinking in order to prevent birth defects. When someone is consuming alcohol on a regular basis and then stops, their body goes through withdrawal, where it has to learn how to operate without the chemical present. A father's sperm are still negatively impacted by drinking even during the withdrawal process.

A study from Frontiers in Nutrition purports that dietary factors affect semen quality, and the mechanisms underlying the observed associations are likely multifactorial, involving complex interactions between diet, oxidative stress, inflammation, and hormone levels.

A study from Advances in Nutrition found that men who include at least two servings of nuts daily as part of their diet improves sperm parameters and have potential to promote successful reproductive outcomes.

A study in British Journal of Nutrition suggests that men exhibiting infertility should make sure their vitamin D levels are optimal.

Exposure to phthalates, a group of plasticizing and solvent chemicals found in many household products, was linked to a lower probability of getting pregnant, but not to pregnancy loss, according to research Environmental Health Perspectives. This affects men and women equally.

Finally, a study in Fertility & Sterility shows that frequent use of mobile phones is associated with a lower sperm concentration and total sperm count. However, researchers did not find any association between mobile phone use and low sperm motility and morphology. The authors suggest men in their fertility years keep their phones off their person as much as possible.

A 57 year-old male recently saw Steve because of cancer recurrence. He had stage four adenocarcinoma of the esophagus along with four small lesions on the liver.

He wanted complementary therapy to not only minimize side effects of conventional treatment, but improve his outcome. Given that some of the cancer was located in the esophagus, the potential for severe side effects such as painful reflux was high.

Steve immediately put him on an individualized eating and supplement plan that would not interfere with conventional treatment, as well as optimize his ability to not only breeze through treatment, but thrive.

The client followed the eating and supplement plan to the letter, and added grounding and meditation on his own. He was shocked by how great he felt throughout the treatment process. Even directly after treatment, he had little or no side effects.

After eight months, his physicians were agog when his scans showed that he was completely cancer free. They had rarely ever seen such a quick recovery, especially in someone with cancer recurrence.

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Disclaimer: Case reports are not intended for self-healing. Case reports are for references purposes only and should be discussed with your health professional.

Asthma is an inflammatory condition that increases mucus production and hypersensitivity in the airways. This contributes to a decrease in airflow, which can cause shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and a feeling of chest tightness. Inhalers are commonly prescribed yet many still suffer and turn to Chiropractic care.

Chiropractors.org sites many case studies of asthmatic patients. One article presented three patients, who were being treated conventionally with medication. They also had chiropractic manipulation twice a week for a period of 6 weeks. All three cases resulted in improvement of their symptoms in the time period of being adjusted. 

Another article was of a 12 year old who had substantial changes in her asthmatic symptoms with 10 chiropractic visits. She stopped care as was feeling better but then came back at age 17 when her symptoms crept up. Once again she improved greatly with chiropractic care. Then there was the clinical case of a 5 year old who had 5 treatments over a 3 day period. There was a quick and drastic reduction in his symptoms and he was able to reduce all of his medication over the next few months with the exception of a rescue inhaler, which he needed infrequently.

Never underestimate the power of the body to feel and work better with the help of chiropractic. This hands on approach reduces stress responses and increases repair and self healing responses, allowing for a multitude of health benefits.

Dr. Liselotte Schuster is a Holistic Family Chiropractor and has been in practice since 1989. She tailors each visit by using a variety of techniques that she feels are most effective. She loves seeing children and adults reach their full potential, trusting in the healing powers of their body. Dr. Schuster is in the same office as Bonnie & Steve Minsky as they have been in practice together for 33 years. She can be reached at (847)509-9067 or drliloschuster@sbcglobal.net

Bonnie, Steve, Liselotte, Lori, Sharron, Cindy, Diana, Ileana, and Carolyn