World Mental Health Day: Tips from Dr. Bob DeMaria

World Mental Health Day: Tips from Dr. Bob DeMaria

October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and one of the best resources for a holistic approach is: "Dr. Bob's Drugless Guide to Mental Health." 

Since its release, this book has helped thousands of patients from all over the world, and in the video above, Dr. Bob shares some additional thoughts that are also paraphrased below, with links to additional resources. 

Excerpt from video: 

“I've been practicing since 1978 and I really have never seen as much anxiety and depression as what I am seeing right now. 

I was born in 1954, post-World War II. I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis. People actually came to my house to build a bomb shelter. Could you imagine right now people going around thinking about creating bomb shelters? And of course, I lived through the Vietnam War. I had a draft number. I could have got drafted and had to go to the Service. So I've had a lot of stress in my personal life. And I could go on with it, just as I'm sure many of you could tell me the stories that have gone on with you. 

But back in the 1970s and '80s, I started to learn about mental health. Hence, I wrote my first book, "Dr. Bob's Guide To Stop ADHD in 18 Days". I got a lot of flack from those 18 days, because everybody thought I was being really arrogant, that I could magically cure ADHD in 18 days. It wasn't about me, it was about physiology. 

That's what I've been so fortunate to learn this. I have a degree in human biology. I used to teach human dissection. So I've really put my hands literally, into the subject of human function. So in the late '70s and early '80s, I learned about oil. You need oil for your brain. It's called DHA. If you're depressed right now, it's possible you have a low amount of DHA. We actually have a blood test. See, I didn't have a blood test back in the 2000s to be able to do this. But today, you could literally go to a lab, we use Labcorp, and have your omega blood tests checked. 

If you have depression, I'm going to tell you right now, you don't have to throw the dice to figure out what you need. If your DHA is low, that's like having an engine that's pinging, because it does not have enough oil in it. If you're a female, postpartum depression is an oil issue. A lot of times people don't realize, but young boys and men need more oil than ladies do. It's DHA. So DHA, I talk about in the book the very first chapter. It is a long-chain fat for your brain.. That's number one. You have to have good oil for your brain. And, you know, a lot of you are going to fast food restaurants, and franchise restaurants and you're eating food that you know you really are not empowering your body to be healthy. So good oil, is number one. 

Many of you also have anxiety. For whatever reason, anxiety patients for us are very hard to satisfy, because they always have something going on a million miles an hour in their brain. Most of the time you need B vitamins. Do you cry easily? Do mosquitoes like you? Do you have noise sensitivity? Does your blood pressure drop from a sit to a stand position? You need B vitamins. We use a product from Biotics called Bio-B 100s and then we have a B complex. We have two of them. The Bio-B Complex is a little bit more potent than the Bio-B 100s. Some of you, just a B vitamin alone will make a difference. So let's transition. (Contact us for nutrition)

When your body starts making this long-chain fat called DHA, it has to have co-factors. Co-factors are zinc, B6, magnesium. If you're eating sugar, and you have large pores on your face and white spots on your nails, you need zinc. You can get zinc from pumpkin seeds. But zinc is an important factor for optimal brain fat function. So a lot of you are having depression and anxiety, because you're not feeding your body right. You need to feed your body right. And if you don't, I told you all those stresses that I had in my life and I can go on with more. I have no depression and no anxiety. Well, Dr. Bob, you're lucky. It's not luck. I woke up at 4:25 this morning, and rode my bike for 15 miles. And I was born in 1954, so you do the math to figure out how old I am. So you need to create plans. So zinc was another. You already talked about B vitamins. Some of you could have some anxiety, and depression and mental challenges, because you don't have enough vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is deficient in those of you who have chosen to be plant eaters or vegetarians. 

If you want to be a plant eater, vegetarian. I, you know, that's good. I empower you for that. But, you're going to need to get some B12 in your body. 

Here are some easy, just things to do right now, because I could go on for hours talking about this: 

- You want to be in bed by 10 o'clock at night. Those hours before midnight are important for your adrenal glands. You want to carve out time to exercise every day. When I started this whole exercise, I used to get up at a quarter to seven in the morning. I was not exercising. So you have to carve time out. 

- You want to drink more water. I know it sounds simple, but I was just talking to Dr. Casen today, and people who don't drink enough water, don't have enough energy. 

- You may consider adding a B vitamin. 

- You may consider doing the Omega Test. 

In this book I talk about emotions, and health and mental health. So I want you to know this. Anger is a liver issue. Bitterness is a gallbladder issue. Sadness can impact your lungs. The spleen, which is very important for your immune system, is anxiety and worry. 

Did you hear what I just said? The spleen, which is very important for your immune system, is anxiety and worry. The kidneys are fear. So what I want you to know right now, you can make some changes. Of course, if you're on any medication, I'm not here to take you off the medication. You may consider having a consultation. I'm here to help make a difference in your life. Today, is a mental health day. And I want you to feel more empowered that you can control your future. I'm Dr. Bob DeMaria.” 

Links to “Dr. Bob’s Drugless Guide to Mental Health” 

Soft Cover 

Kindle 

Individual Chapters

Overcome Stress: Nutrition Recommendations

Helping You Overcome Stress: Nutrition Recommendations

Dr. Casen and Dr. Bob DeMaria Share Their Tips on Stress Prevention

Dr. Casen and Dr. Bob DeMaria discuss stress prevention

Hello, Everyone; Dr. Casen and Dr. Bob are coming to you from Westlake, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, and we will be talking about one of your top goals. When we see members in our office, or if we're talking to them online and on videos, what's really interesting is that many people have similar goals, and it's DECREASING STRESS.

Stress creates an acid pH in your body. So, if you're underneath stress and your pH goes down, that's acid. When you're under pressure, your body will burn up minerals. So I now make sure that I have calcium in my body regularly. I'll never forget, I happened to be in Florida, and there were these people that had this like suntan lotion on their lips, and I knew what was going on. They thought if the sun didn't hit their lips, they wouldn't get cold sores, and I wanted so bad to go over and tap on them and say, "The sun is taking calcium out of your body." So if you have leg cramps at night, cramping, starting to notice some cold sores, some Celtic Sea Salt, maybe some Cal-Mag-Zyme that we use in our office, perhaps some Bio-CMP, you might think about adding an L-lysine, which helps the absorption of calcium. I don't have cold sores anymore because I take calcium.

We have this Selina Naturally, their Celtic Sea Salt, I was reading some research on this, and the quality of the minerals; it also has some zinc in it and other nutrients, but you can sprinkle it on your food like seasoning to taste, but also sprinkle a fourth of a teaspoon in your water bottle, your kids, all of these different electrolyte powders and drinks that you see out there, a lot of them don't have these electrolytes that they portray themselves have, but they might have dyes and sugars. It's easy to incorporate.

Also, when it comes to stress, you'll hear a lot about B vitamins. The product I have right now is Bio-B 100, which is a lower amount of dose in regards to when it comes to B's. Still, our body goes through minerals and B vitamins, which can impact heart health, overall muscle tissue, and brain health. I know so many people right now; their bodies feel tight, and they say, "You know what? I can't relax; I can't relax my shoulders." And it can impact their breathing, their immune system, and we all utilize B vitamins, but mainly if you have a greater demand going on in your body right now.

People who need B vitamins usually cry easily and have sore muscles after exercise. Let's say you go to bed at 10 o'clock, and if you wake up at 11 o'clock, it could be a possible B vitamin need; your blood pressure might drop from a sit to a standing position. I take B vitamins regularly to help prevent all the issues you may have, and it's essential, so I can hold that one for you if you want to use it.

It's perfect to have on hand for prevention. Also, when it comes to stress and as chiropractors, we work on spinal function, but one of the most significant areas of the spine that we work with that always has extra stress and pressure because of gravity is that upper cervical curve.

Whether it is from food choices because you have to think that nerve only has so much room, so it could be from cookies, grains, dairy, maybe things that you don't typically consume, it can cause inflammation on those nerve roots, and that can cause, whether it's numbness and tingling in the body. We've had a lot of people with dizziness and balance and coordination challenges, increased heart rate, I know with our other nutritional services, whether it's blood pressure or cholesterol, all of these things that could be coming from foods, but also what I want you to think about is your posture. Through the seasons and with stress, you might find yourself leaning forward more in this forward position, and we want to work on, number one, whether it's us that you see or someone in your area, you want to find a skilled chiropractor who does X-rays of the spine.

You can see what's going on, but you also want to be working on strength training and exercises to help bring everything back. What's interesting, Dr. Bob? I was working with a girl, and we saw her a year ago, and I said to her, "So, what's different this year?" And she said, "Well, I want to stop saying to myself, I'm just getting older, and it's just with age." And I said, "So has anything changed?" She said, "Nope, I still have neck, lower back, mid-back, aches, and pains, and she can't move." And I said, "Okay, it will take some work. Are you willing to make a change?" And she said, "Yes."

Another product that we have, it's called Bio-Ashwagandha. It's kind of like what we call an adaptogen; it just kind of slows the body down because we all have a lot of stress going on just regardless, if it's good stress or negative stress, so Bio-Ashwagandha would help you, you could even take one or two every day. So you may consider some Celtic Sea Salt, put it on your food, use it liberally, and a couple of B vitamins every day. If you have a lot of stress, think about Bio-Ashwagandha. Feeling all those cold sores will be crucial to increasing your calcium. So that was a lot of information.

It was. You should go back and check it out, stop it, share it with a loved one. I know that you'll be glad that you did, and we look forward to helping you.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH US TODAY

Helping Depression, Anxiety, and Memory Loss Naturally - Mental Health Tips

Helping Depression, Anxiety, and Memory Loss Naturally - Mental Health Tips

Hi Everyone!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and below is the transcript of Dr. Anthony and Dr. Bob’s discussion on mental health, and more specifically, Dr. Bob’s Drugless Guide to Mental Health, as a blueprint for this conversation:

It's been about a year since Dr. Bob's Drugless Guide to Mental Health has been out. And I know that there's been a lot of people that have really responded well to the information that's in the book.

So, Dr. Bob, let's talk a little bit about why is mental health and the mental health book now more important than ever?

- People are stressed, So the book itself is going to give individuals some basic ideas of what you can do to promote optimal health of living, because your brain is impacted by all these emotions and all of these stresses.

- Now, for those that are out there watching this, what are a couple of simple, easy tips that someone can do to help improve their mental health?

- Well, probably the number one that all of you could do is minimize stress. And this is kind of interesting. Let's say somebody asks you to do something you don't really want to do, like make 12 dozen cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles on top. That is just not a part of your passion. So you have to learn something. If somebody asks you to do something you don't want to do just say, "I can't say yes," with a smile. And they're going to say, what does that mean? It's NO, we have so many people, well intended to have family members help and support them. I'm not telling you not to, but it's stress. And let me give you the real reason what happens here. There are glands in your body called adrenal glands. Adrenal glands make adrenaline or adrenal hormones. Well, that's made in part by something called tyrosine. Tyrosine is a protein, it's an amino acid. Well, tyrosine is a natural anti-depressant. That's important for you to know that. But tyrosine and iodine make thyroid hormone. So a lot of people have depression, Dr. Anthony, and or anxiety, and not only are their adrenal glands tired, they have low thyroid with cold hands and cold feet. And then they have depression. We talk about that inside of the book and what you can do to help improve brain function.

- So Dr. Bob, what about a test and what tests might you recommend if someone's like, you know what? I really like to investigate more mental health, my own health, what could they do and why should they do it?

- Well, I'll tell you, one of the things that you could do is take your blood pressure sitting and then standing. And if your blood pressure drops from a sit to a stand, you may have adrenal gland involvement. So that's one test you could do. Have your thyroid checked, TSH, T3, and T4. If the numbers are low, it's possibly because you don't have enough tyrosine. But if you really drill down a little bit further, you can have a test done called the Omega Test. The Omega Test is an evaluation of the oil inside of your body that impacts your brain. For example, DHA. DHA is fat for the brain. You want to make sure you have enough of that. On the other hand, if you have an elevation of Omega-6 fats, your brain is going to be in a state of inflammation. We also know by looking at a blood test we use called the Opti-Chem, if your alkaline phosphatase, I know it's a big word, but alkaline phosphatase is low, it means you could have a zinc need. Well, you need zinc for your memory. That's a part of mental health. And finally, we look at a person's uric acid, it's another serum test. And if that level is low, it could be a B12 need. And you need B12 Dr. Anthony, for your memory. It's amazing how many possibilities that we have that we can help a person drill down to find out what's going on inside of them.

- Okay, so in your experience too, and I know that you talked about this in the book as well, what have you seen with people that have received chiropractic care and their mental health? Is there a correlation? What have you noticed?

- You know, it's really, that's a tremendous question. We have people that will come in with major anxiety. It just happened to me last week. We had an individual come in, we take posture pictures. The person's posture was like this. You can literally see the frown on her head, even with the mask on. Gave her her very first spinal correction, to her upper cervical spine. And when she came in this week, on Tuesday, her whole life was changed. We had a gentleman that was so kind to write a testimony in our book, and after his first or second adjustment, his anxiety was gone. That's a big deal.

- Okay, so for anybody that's out there, what would you tell them about if they're interested in the mental health book, why should they consider getting it?

- Well, it's going to give you a roadmap from the beginning to the end. We talk about antidepressants and we're not telling anybody to get off their antidepressants. We talk about how fat does impact your brain and how to measure it. A variety of nutrients. We even have all the different types of tests that you can do. But one area that I failed to mention that's really, really important is that mental health itself impacts organs. For example, your liver is the organ of anger. The gallbladder is bitterness. The lungs are sadness, kidney is fear. And here's the last one, that's so significant. The spleen, which is a part of your immune system, is anxiety and worry. So people who have a lot of anxiety and worry Dr. Anthony, their immune system is weak. So if you want to learn more about what I just said, by getting the book we're going to give you the building blocks that you need to create optimal, happy mental health.

- So I'm Dr. Anthony DeMaria. This is Dr. Bob DeMaria. I hope you enjoyed this information on mental health and we hope that you have an excellent day.

Natural Tips for Anxiety at The Drugless Doctors

GradePower Learning stopped by our practice to talk about natural tips to anxiety and how we are able to help with chiropractic and drugless care.

Pass this on to a friend who you know can benefit 😃

Additional Anxiety Resources:

The Drugless Approach to Anxiety & Depression

Mental Health Testimonial: Video Below

We are here to help. If anyone you know would like to consider drugless and natural care, please contact us today at (440) 471-4200.

The Drugless Approach to Anxiety and Depression

Hi Everyone!

Our March "Half-Hour to Health" was on a subject in which we have helped many of our practice members overcome with chiropractic and nutrition: Anxiety & Depression.

Below are our notes and the video with Dr. Bob. Please pass this on to anyone who you know can benefit!

The Drugless Approach to Anxiety and Depression

Why are we as Chiropractors talking about mental health?  

Brain & Nervous System – Current research is showing that chiropractic care alone can increase brain function by 20-50%!

How does someone’s mental health impact their body and current state of health?  

Humans are the only animals who regularly experience a stress response without an actual stressor present.

- How many adults have depression? Estimated that over 3 million American adults have depression

- How many adults have anxiety? Over 40 million adults over 18 have anxiety.

- Research shows 1 out of 7 U.S. children aged 2 to 8 years had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder (MBDD), from CDC.

Depression:

1. Studies have repeatedly shown antidepressants work no better than placebo for mild to moderate depression, yet carry a significant risk of side effects.

2. Depression is likely the result of multiple environmental and biological factors, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, stressful life events, nutrition, medications and medical problems, among others.

Anxiety

- What is it? Fear or nervousness of what might happen. Fear of the unknown?

- Body Signals: signs of apprehension, restlessness, upset stomach, shortness of breath, fatigue, insomnia, increase heart rate, sweating, and many others.

Best ways to combat anxiety and depression (NATURALLY):

A. Chiropractic

B. Omega 3 – (Optimal EFA, Bio-Omega 3, Flax Oil)

C. Magnesium

D. B Vitamins

E. Exercise

F. Clean Eating – vegetables, proteins, good fats

G. Gut Health

Upcoming Westlake Events:

April Half Hour to Health: How to improve your breathing and allergies naturally!

Weds. April 4th at NOON and Thurs. APRIL 5th at 6 PM – No registration required!

Monday April 16th @ 6PM- Create a breast health strategy!  Come learn more about a different approach to breast health and the innovative technology of Breast Thermography.

Help us reach our community!  Who do you know that would benefit from this information?  Do you have a business that would be interested in having us speak?  Contact us, info@druglessdrs.com to schedule us for your next event.

How To: Stress Less During the Holidays

How to do approach the Christmas season? Is your calendar booked with something each night of the week? Spending time with friends and family is one of the focal points during this season, but we have found that stress levels can also be at an unreasonably high level during this time as well. Dr. Bob shared his tips to help us stress-less on our sister site, druglessdoctor.com & we have them here for you today:

I have read that stress creates over 80% of all sickness and disease today. Due to all of the instant gratification, stimulation and communication in society today it seems that the days tend to fly by! I know from my own perspective the week skips from Monday to Friday in a blink. Our schedules are filled with day to day chores, family and personal responsibilities and opportunities to help our friends, relatives and co-workers.

For the purpose of this entry, we will focus on two general responses to stress. There can be a positive stress, celebrating a victory or a negative one – living with the consequences of a mis-step or reset. People living today, and this is a general statement, receive happiness from the positive response and appear to be taught from the negative ones. Unfortunately, the consequences of a negative stress often times can create distress for years and even generations.

Stress has a variety of impact possibilities to the physiology of the body; it literally cause a pit in your stomach, hives on your skin, loose stools, hair loss, sleepless nights, dry mouth, back pain, headaches, “tics” and about five hundred other responses. So, what does stress really do; it literally pushes buttons that speed up the adrenal gland causing more cortisol which races the heart, increases blood pressure, burns muscle and starts your metabolism running.  How you handle the stress impacts your immune system response. Stress impacts several areas in the body and has a negative impact on your health especially when it is constant and sustained as some of you may endure during the Christmas season.

Stress tends to cause an acid pH which burns up your minerals. It is wise to add additional minerals from the beginning of November until the spring time. We use Multi Mins™, three to six a day on an empty stomach. Body signals for mineral need would include cold sores, leg cramps at night, itchy skin, legs twitching in bed, craving salt and/or sugar.

Stress exhausts the adrenal glands which is a very important natural pain reliever, hormone maker and blood sugar controller. Adrenal fatigue is common with the additional hours, schedules and commitments during the holiday season. I encourage our patients to take two ADB5™ upon waking and two at noon. Body signal for exhausted adrenal function include dizzy from a sit to a stand position, craving sugar or salt, back going out easy, a need to wear sunglasses, pain and inflammation.

Stress during the Christmas season tends to rapidly burn through B vitamins; you may notice sore muscles, difficulty in staying asleep, crying easy, noise sensitivity.  B vitamins are also exhausted additionally with sugar consumption. I encourage our patients to take three Bio-B Complex a day for three months. If you notice pain after snow shoveling you would be wise to substitute the Bio-B Complex to Bio-B 100’s™, four to six a day. The Bio-B Complex is very potent and should only be taken for three months at the maximum.

About: The Drugless Doctors is a chiropractic and nutrition-based wellness practice located in Westlake and Elyria, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.