www.njchiropractors.com I 19 Every chiropractor is in a position of leadership and power! All of you and your teams are influencing people on a regular basis. The value built and delivered during the patient intake and treatment plan directly correlates to your patient’s overall health improve- ment and your financial success. Most chiropractors focus on the value created in the gap between the problem of the spine and the possibility. For example, during my own cervical motion study, Dr. Devon Coughlin identified segments of my spine not moving appropriately (Problem), and through a very thorough intake process, detailed how a normal motion study should look (Possibility). Many of you do this type of positioning with your patients, clearly defining the Problem and Possibility, creating value for your services. Patients don’t pay a lot for the problem identification, or the possibility you educate them on. They pay for the value built into the treatment plan and roadmap that takes them from where they are today to where they want to be. Understanding this equation and these variables empowers you to build value, results, and increase collections for your services. The value you create during patient intake, return and reports, and progress checks is critical to patient engagement. The success of my work with hundreds of successful chiroprac- tors with all types of specialites comes down to how I assist them in creating value for their services. Together, we deliver validation with a simple, powerful and adaptable process that (97), red baked potatoes (93), dates (97), Cheerios (106), corn flakes (119), pretzels (116), waffles (109). Now, how can so many foods have index values above 100, pure sugar? These very processed foods, notably cereals that are so refined they almost “melt” into your mouth, and into your blood for that matter, without much digestion process needed. Though many of the cereal items were and appear to be a grain product, they have been so mechanized that they are now the consistency of starches, which are equivalent or above that of sugar in their GI classification as we see. When eating these foods, the blood sugar levels then quickly become high and the response is great: 100 plus. Other foods similar to these are: white bread, crackers and chips. All of these are highly processed, come in a box and are very far from a whole food. Unprocessed, whole foods containing more fiber and protein provoke a lower GI response – the digestive system has to “work” to digest these – that is what it was designed to do and makes for a healthy GI outcome. In the case of these high index foods, when consistently consumed, the energy needs of the body from the Kcals are often exceeded and the excess is stored as fat. The GI concept has brought starch, and the wallop that it packs on the glycemic response, more to the forefront. As pointed out, the digestion of starches is rapid because it starts in the mouth via the enzyme amylase as opposed to most other foods which start their digestion primarily in the stomach. This double whammy, the starchy consis- tency or higher carbohydrate value and rapid digestion, allow indexes of greater than 100 blood glucose responses. Moderate value foods are typically between (50-70). Some of these are: sweet corn (56), yams (54), pineapple (66), Special-K (54). I picked these foods to compare because of the similar foods that we compared in the high index category. The difference from the higher category in their glycemic response is largely due to the lowered sugar and higher fiber content of these moderate foods. These are some of the lower ranked foods – some may be surprising -- and are below (50): black beans (43), chickpeas (47), apples (54), grapefruit (36) and rice bran (27). The beans, peas, fruits and grains have gotten reputations as “no-no” foods with low carbohydrate diets, but they are “slow burning,” healthful carbohydrates. Their glycemic responses are very low due to their very high fiber makeup, and some such as beans have protein content, which has a low impact. When eaten in the right amounts in the correct time frame, they can create a decrease in weight with better body composition. You can also put almost every green leafy vegetable in this low category as well. We just can’t get around it: We’re just going to have to start eating better. Lower rises in blood sugar elicits a lower rise in insulin, which lessens fat storage and sugar highs and the sugar crashes. This is what we want! Spikes in insulin also create hunger pangs and make us want to eat more. It’s a bad cycle. We want to keep these to a minimum, especially when we’re restricting our food intake in an aim to slim down. So, higher protein and fiber foods create a slower energy/calorie burn that keeps us going on a steadier basis. We know that increased adipose tissue creates a cascade for Metabolic Syndrome. But diets don’t work. We need to educate ourselves and our patients on how to adopt healthful eating practices. Julianne Monica, DC, CNS, DCBCN, practices in Sea Girt with an emphasis on clinical nutrition with a functional, non-drug approach to manage chronic conditions and achieve optimal, meta- bolic status for her patients. CHIROPRACTORS – Together We Achieve a Stronger Position in Your Community! [ CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 ] By Seth Kaelin