Getting Chiropractic Adjustments Can Boost Your Immune System

Your nervous system controls and signals to your immune system to boost and fight infection and your endocrine system to help with hormone balance. When you have nerve pressure in your spine from injury or arthritis this can cause your nervous system not to send signals out and can cause your immune system and endocrine system not to work at 100%.


The nervous, immune, and endocrine systems share tiny messenger molecules that mediate communication between them. One of these messenger molecules, IL-2, used to be classically thought of as an immune system molecule; however, studies published within the past decade have clearly shown IL-2's presence and activity in the nervous system (click here for more information). One recent pioneering study,"Enhancement of in vitro interleukin-2 production in normal subjects following a single spinal manipulative treatment"(click here for the article) clearly demonstrated an increase in IL-2 levels and also in the function of T-cells, which are key players in the immune system's army of cells, following chiropractic adjustment. The authors concluded that chiropractic adjustment can influence the biological immune response.

In another elegant study by Selano et al, "The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments On The CD4 Counts of HIV Positive Patients'" (Chiropractic Research Journal 1994; 3(1): 32-39), the effects of six months of regular chiropractic care on the immune system function of HIV patients was measured. At the end of six months of care, the patients who had received regular adjustments had a 48% increase in the number of CD4+ T cells (p=0.06), whereas the patients who were not adjusted had an 8% decrease in CD4+ cells.

A series of studies published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) by Brennan and Triano showed that several types of immune system cells, including phagocytes, neutrophils, and PMNs, showed increased biological activity after chiropractic adjustment. Links to the PubMed abstracts can be found here and here. These studies all suggest that chiropractic adjustment can enhance immune system function.

The idea that chiropractic care can help the immune system work better is not a new one. In fact, this concept has been supported by credible data for a century. For example, Dr. Dan Murphy compiled some very interesting data regarding the use of chiropractic care during the Influenza Epidemic of 1918. Click here for an excerpt. According to the statistics presented in this excerpt, influenza patients who were under chiropractic care rather than medical care during this epidemic had significantly higher survival rates. (Note: some cite the success of chiropractic treatment in this epidemic as the historical turning point that allowed chiropractic care to survive as a profession.)

The endocrine system's main players are epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), nor-epinephrine, and cortisol. These molecules are produced in the adrenal glands, endocrine glands which have direct connections with the nervous system by way of a division called the sympathetic nervous system. Cortisol in particular is a stress hormone that inhibits the immune system (which is why stress really can make you sick!) So if the sympathetic nervous system is too "turned on" due to stress and subluxation, it can increase the adrenal glands' synthesis of cortisol, in turn affecting the immune system. Vertebral subluxation promotes this exact situation (see here for and article abstract and here for an full article describing this).

For more information about how chiropractic care can help the immune system function better, visit www.chiro.org/research and www.icpa4kids.org.

Gluten Free Apple Cider Cinnamon Quick Bread

It's been raining and when I say raining I mean torrential downpours with basement flooding and whole parking lots underwater. So we've been stuck inside and you know how I get when I'm locked up inside!

We went to Christ Apple Orchard in Elmwood IL a few weeks ago and are on the last dregs of our 2nd gallon of apple cider and I'm getting appled out with the huge bag of apples we picked. So I decided to use the last of the apple cider and some apples in a lovely apple cinnamon bread that I modified.

As you know, we've been dealing with some food allergies in our house including dairy, gluten, and yeast so I'm forever trying to find recipes that don't seem gluten free or dairy free but still smell, look, and taste amazing. So here ya go!

If you haven't cooked with gluten free recipes before there's a few things to keep in mind. #1 Always get the good flour and don't try to mix your own. I personally love Gluten Free Mama's Coconut Flour Blend because it is very smooth but it tends to soak up a bit more liquid since coconut flour is super absorb able so you'll have to play with adding more liquid to make it right. When I'm modifying recipes I tend to favor the Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour which I buy in bulk on Amazon Prime because you can literally use it cup 4 cup in recipes so there's no guesswork and it doesn't tend to dry out as much as the Gluten Free Mama when baking over 40 minutes. It also rises and has a similar texture to regular flour so its much easier to trick your tastebuds into thinking its not gluten free.

Ok I'll shut up now... Here's the recipe

Bread Mix
1 1/2 cup Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp Five Spice Blend (I'm a bit of a spice freak but this is totally optional!)
1/2 cup butter (melted in microwave)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup apple cider
1/4 cup cream cheese or sour cream (to maintain some creamy texture)

Apple Mix
1 apple peeled and chopped into small chunks (any variety will do but I used a large Gala because that's what I had)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Cinnamon Sugar Topping
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees because it is super easy and quick to put this "quick" bread together. Bad pun, I know right?!?
2. Mix the bread mix in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the apple mix together.
4. Grease your loaf pan (it makes it much easier to get out and for it to not fall apart since gluten free flour doesn't tend to hold together since gluten is like glue and keeps it together)
5. Pour and spread HALF of the bread mix in the loaf pan.
6. Sprinkle HALF the apple mix on top.
7. Pour and spread the rest of the bread mix on top.
8. Sprinkle the rest of the apple mix on top.
9. Add that topping and you're ready to go in the oven.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a knife comes out clean in center.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Pancakes

So my husband requested to take the allergy test and it came back with a dairy and yeast allergy so we are now going to be testing new recipes and products to see what he likes as alternatives. (Picky eater alert!!)

Since I'm gluten free these recipes will use gluten free flour (I'm trying Cup4cup flour for the first time) and almond milk or olive oil as dairy alternatives.

Recipe:
1 3/4 cup Cup4cup gluten free flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup almond milk
2 eggs ( you can use 1/2 cup applesauce)
6 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Note: Dough gets pretty sticky so when you flip your pancakes you'll need to flatten them with your flipper. I think next time I'll use 1 3/4 cup milk to help them be a little more runny and fluffy.

No One Noticed the Gravy was Gluten Free: Biscuits and Gravy

Who doesn't love biscuits and gravy? Well I do and I miss it terribly so I decided to embark upon a journey to find the perfect gluten free biscuits (still searching in fact) and gravy (DISCOVERED!). I don't have all the gluten free staples in my house but typically can use alternatives to find a way to make recipes work. The recipe for the gravy called for xantham gum which I didn't have so I experimented (Yes I am a culinary scientist when I need to be) with a combination of coconut flour and arrowroot powder to thicken the gravy. It worked so well in fact that no one noticed the gravy was gluten free and I was asked to make this again when we go camping. SCORE one for Momma!

As I mentioned I am still looking for the perfect recipe for gluten free biscuits to pair with this lovely gravy however the recipe I used left much to be desired. I found a recipe for gluten free coconut flour cheddar biscuits but they were gritty and mealy and tasted like more like egg than cheddar. Not impressed but if you are a culinary scientist I'll include the recipe below for future experiments. I will note these could probably be turned into the Red Lobster style biscuits with garlic and butter and improvements on the bread-like consistency.

Gluten Free Cheddar Biscuits
1/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and drop spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 14 minutes in oven preheated to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

And now for the piece-de-resistance. the gluten free gravy! I will note that I used homemade chicken broth which is impossibly simple if you make a whole chicken in the insta-pot the night before like I did. I put the bones with any leftover meat and skin into a stockpot and cover with water and boiled for about an hour. Voila broth and if you're really adventurous keep boiling for 4-24 hours to make bone broth (you will have to add more water to cover the bones multiple times).

Gluten Free Sausage Gravy
1 lb ground sausage
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3 tsp arrowroot powder
3 tsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1/4 chopped onion)
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage with thyme, onion powder (or onion), and salt and pepper over medium high heat. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl or cup mix the heavy cream, 1 tsp arrowroot powder, and 1 tsp coconut flour and whisk until thick. Add the cream mixture slowly into the sausage broth and stir. Wait until it begins bubbling and then add an additional 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour. Stir and make sure it keeps bubbling and then add the last 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour and continue to boil until it thickens. If you are having a hard time getting it to thicken you can add an additional tsp of the arrowroot and coconut flour but I found the 3 tsp of each worked very well for me.

Now the rest of my family is not gluten free so I made regular biscuits for them because I haven't found a recipe that is delicious and because you really can't fool people with gluten free biscuits (at least I haven't been able to yet since I am still searching for the gluten free biscuits of my dreams). So serve the gravy over the biscuits of your choice (I have been told Aldi's carries a gluten free baking mix that can be used exactly like a Bisquick mix but I have not experimented with this yet).

Someone Stole My Gluten Free Brownies

Well I was going to do a review on these King Arthur Gluten Free brownies but someone stole some before I had a chance to take a picture. I'm still not sure if it was my husband or my 8 year old (my 1 year is napping so she's not in the investigation) but apparently they smelled so good someone had to slice into them before they were fully done cooling.

This mix uses a combination of almond flour and tapioca starch instead of traditional wheat flour and also uses baking powder to help the brownie rise to resemble normal gluten brownies. I'm all about convenience since I'm always at the office so I was pretty excited to get this from Amazon prime and not have to battle lines at a grocery store. I purchased these in an Amazon order from prime pantry along with a few other staples I keep around the house. I also purchased some of Amazon's wickedly good soups so I will have to do another review later on.

Here's my thoughts:

These smell amazing and the cocoa texture is decadent without being overly rich or sweet like some brownies. These are chewy around the edges but seem to stay a bit doughy in the center even when baking at the maximum time (45 minutes for glass pans). After chewing I did noticed some of the graininess all of the almond flour but it didn't really bother me like some previous recipes I had tried. Overall I would definitely purchase these again.

Happy Mother's Day: Apple Rose Tart

Happy Mother's Day! We had an absolutely amazing day spent with the family after my baking spree this weekend. This dessert was SO easy to make and looked GORGEOUS.

Ingredients
1 pkg of cinnamon rolls (or use your own homemade recipe)
2 apples slices in half and then in 1/8-1/4 inch pieces
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (optional but I thought it needed a bit more)
icing for topping (optional: we topped half of this with icing and left the rest alone and it was great either way)
muffin tin or round baking pan

1. Unroll cinnamon rolls into a loose spiral. Note: I did this in a round baking pan but it was hard to cut and stay in one piece so it might work better in a muffin tin
2. Place apples, butter, brown sugar, and optional cinnamon in microwave safe dish and heat for 3 minutes OR heat on stovetop until apple slices are pliable enough to roll together.
3. Make the center of your "rose" by rolling 4 slices of apples together and place in center of cinnamon roll. Slide remaining apple slices between the layers and tighten as you work from the center outward.
4. Pour or brush the remaining butter/brown sugar/cinnamon mix on top 
5. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes and after cooling top with icing if you'd like

Dragon Fruit Challenge

I put my kids to the test... I picked a random fruit they had never tried and brought it home for them to taste test. Dragon fruit it's an exotic fruit that looks amazing from the outside in a bright magenta pink with green accents with a inside white center studded with black seeds. The fruit doesn't have much flavor but the unique coloring made for a fun challenge.

Their take: kid approved, toddler approved