December 2024 Newsletter
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In the 1800s doctors had a problem. Babies and mothers were inexplicably dying after successful births. A doctor by the name of Ignaz Semmelweis said, My fellow doctors, maybe we should wash our hands between dissecting cadavers and aiding patients in childbirth.
Great idea, right? Ha. I mean, it was a great idea, but nobody else thought so. The medical community ran Semmelweis out of town for being so outrageously offensive. To suggest doctors were dirty! Impure! This was a time when germ theory, the belief that microbes cause disease, was in its infancy.
Other theories at the time also had a foothold: for example, years after Semmelweis’ handwashing suggestion, DD Palmer posed a question: how is it that two people can have identical exposure to an illness, yet only one falls ill himself? What makes the difference? He had a hunch that it came down to the spine. He became the founder of chiropractic.
Various fields of healthcare, whether mainstream or alternative, have their own theories for what causes illness and disease. I chose to be a chiropractor because the philosophy behind it captivated me. To think that the body, with a simple adjustment, could resume its ability to self-heal was something I had experienced for myself as a patient, and I wanted to learn more. I couldn’t help but feel chiropractic was a window into another way of understanding the world. It led me to examine beyond what seems like the obvious truth, open my mind to the mysterious, and explore other ways of seeing not only the human body, but our existence as living beings.
DD Palmer’s son, BJ Palmer, followed in his father’s footsteps to further develop the field of chiropractic as clinician, researcher, and worldwide spokesman for chiropractic. He wasn’t afraid to get controversial. In an ironic twist, after the development of successful vaccines and wide cultural acceptance of germ theory, he once said, “If the 'germ theory of disease' were correct, there'd be no one living to believe it.”
Was he saying that we should go back to a time before handwashing?! No. Allow me to interpret: if germs invariably cause disease, in a world covered with them, who would be able to withstand their perpetual offense?
Instead, BJ believed that the terrain theory mattered more: a healthy body is inhospitable terrain to an infectious microbe, thus a foundation of health matters more than shielding oneself from constantly mutating bacteria and viruses. Fighting the germs, to BJ Palmer, was a fool’s errand, whereas with chiropractic, true health from the body’s innate intelligence was attainable.
Having grown up with mainstream medicine, and having trained at the chiropractic Fountainhead, I have to say, why not embrace both the terrain theory and the germ theory? I don’t think we need to argue over which one is right. Both have their place. When you go in for routine vaccinations, schedule an adjustment a few days before. When you need an antibiotic, follow it up with a round of probiotics to rebuild your gut biome. When you wear a mask, remember your vitamins.
When you use each theory for their strengths, dare I say: one hand washes another. (I couldn’t resist!)
Yours in health,
Announcements
Sequoia Chiropractic will be closed to home visits from Tuesday, December 24 through Thursday, December 26.
Sequoia Chiropractic will also be closed Tuesday, December 31 and Wednesday January 1.
NEW HOURS Sequoia Chiropractic is now open for home visits on Tuesday and Thursday 7pm-8:30pm (established patients only). The rest of Sequoia Chiropractic’s clinical care hours will remain the same as before, MTWF 9am-3pm. If you have a new injury that needs urgent care outside of these hours, call or text 626-346-0977. Feel free to leave a voicemail or text ANY TIME and Dr. Phillips will return contact as soon as possible.
Care to share a few words about your experience with Sequoia Chiropractic? Leave a review by searching for “Sequoia Chiropractic Pasadena” on Google or Yelp. Even a sentence or two helps others feel confident choosing Dr. Phillips as their chiropractor.
Sequoia Chiropractic is offering a new service free to newsletter subscribers. Receive a focused nutrition consultation with Dr. Phillips via phone or video call. To get started, fill out this form. You’ll receive personalized advice on foods and/or supplements for a healthy foundation based on your unique needs and goals.
Book Recommendations
To find the list of current and previous books featured in the newsletter, head to Sequoia Chiropractic’s bookshop.org storefront.
The Age of Grievance
Frank Bruni
To be a chiropractor is to be controversial. The divisiveness, name-calling, and victimizing that occur between mainstream medicine and chiropractic, as well as within factions of chiropractic, are a microcosm of the large-scale grievance-culture we live in today. As individuals and groups, we call attention to our victimhood and point fingers at aggressors to an extreme. How did this become the norm and what do we do about it? How do we diffuse our righteous anger and break bread? Bruni leverages immaculate analysis to get to the core of what is happening to make us so aggrieved, and offers solutions for true reconciliation and humanizing of all involved in a range of settings from family dinners to congress. To me this is some of the best political writing that does not fall into partisan preaching, and instead teaches us a way to resolve our hurts and make a better society for all.
The Anatomy Duology
Anatomy and Immortality
Dana Schwartz
Schwartz’s book duo is a mishmash of romance, mystery, and historical fiction about a young woman in 1800s Edinburgh who would rather be a surgeon than marry. These books are just fun, prime reading for entertainment, and great on audio. Hazel Sinnett, excluded by her gender from anatomy lectures, must take to backstreet methods of obtaining the knowledge she needs in order to pass the medical entrance exam and prove she deserves a spot to train as a surgeon. Lucky for her she befriends a “resurrection man” who digs up graves and sells the bodies for a living. It sounds morbid, but I promise you’ll fall in love with Hazel and root for her to overcome every hurdle she faces in love and medicine. Plus, the sequel is just as fun and well-written as the first.
Health Affirmation
I love when the days get shorter. Going home to my apartment in the evening, I feel like I’m entering a soft, warm cocoon, shielded from relentless sun and the drive to go, go, go. There’s comfort in retreating from the world, treating oneself gently, and giving yourself time just to be. Sure, there might be things health-wise or otherwise that you’d like to fix, but maybe for a little while you can take off the pressure. Let yourself, your problems, your plans and your efforts, have a rest.
Nutrition Spotlight
Got a cold? You need elderberry syrup. Although raw elderberries are not safe to eat, cooked into a syrup they prevent and treat colds and other upper respiratory infections. While there are recipes to make your own, you can also buy pre-made formulations from most pharmacies, including Sequoia Chiropractic’s Fullscript online supplement store.
Order elderberry syrup and more at Sequoia Chiropractic’s Fullscript store, where all orders automatically receive a 10% discount and ship directly to you. Creating a patient account is free.
One More Thing
Enjoy this family-friendly Saturday Night Live music video about a different kind of Santa for a Christmas where everybody gets sump’n, no matter how naughty they’ve been.
Happy Holidays!
Thank you for reading the newsletter. If you have a friend who would enjoy it, please invite them to subscribe. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, subscribe here.
