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One’s relationship with science has become a political stance, especially with the rise in anti-vaccine rhetoric and the country’s chaotic response to Covid.

And as much as I am pro-science, I find the near-religious faith in science to be concerning. It’s not the science that bothers me, but what people believe science to be: irrefutable facts that, when believed, offer a person the moral high ground.

Being a chiropractor, I was taught plenty of science. I spent countless hours learning anatomy in cadaver lab, studying physiology and biochemistry. What I do for patients is directly related to what we know about the body via science.

Being a chiropractor, I was also taught to go beyond hegemonic paradigms of thought, such as beliefs that drugs and surgery are the principal ways to solve health problems. In my years of training I saw and experienced how impactful chiropractic is even though it’s a marginalized health care discipline with limited research-based evidence.

When I combine these seemingly disparate perspectives, I’ve learned that science has limits. It’s limited by the questions we pose, the questions that then receive funding to find the answers, and how the results of such inquiries are interpreted. Science is NOT a set of facts. Science is a process used to create knowledge. It’s a process I believe in, despite its limits, and it's the lens through which I approach chiropractic. I seek out whatever the scientific process has revealed, and I consider the limitations of what it can tell us.

While science is an essential method of discovery, it’s not the only one. Sometimes you have to experience something for yourself to gain an understanding of it. If you haven’t experienced the life-changing power of chiropractic, what’s holding you back?

Yours in health,

Announcements

☀️😎🌻Expanded summer hours!🌻😎☀️ Sequoia Chiropractic’s clinical care hours are now:

Monday 9am - 12pm and 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 6:30pm
Thursday 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

To get on the schedule, leave a voicemail or text ANY TIME and Dr. Phillips will return contact as soon as possible.

Attention all newsletter subscribers! Sequoia Chiropractic is offering a new service. Receive a FREE 15-minute nutrition consultation with Dr. Phillips via phone or video call. To get started, fill out this form. You’ll receive advice on foods and/or supplements based on your health goals.

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.

Are you a woman living with cancer? Become a member of the Living Beauty Cancer Foundation, and join Dr. Phillips in an online workshop on Wednesday July 24th at 5pm (PDT) covering simple movements and remedies for pain relief.

If your business or organization would like to arrange a guest talk or article by Dr. Phillips, email drphillips@sequoiachiro.com.

Did you know Sequoia Chiropractic has special rates for families and groups? Leave a voicemail or text at 626-346-0977 to get started.

Check out Sequoia Chiropractic on social media

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Book Recommendation

I love to read, and in each newsletter I recommend a book or two pertaining to health. You can find them at your local library, or to purchase a copy, head to Sequoia Chiropractic’s bookshop.org storefront.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures

Anne Fadiman

The Spirit Catches You covers the story of a Hmong immigrant family whose young daughter suffers from severe epilepsy. After moving to California, the family’s cultural understanding of the illness clashes with what her doctors believe is best. The doctors of course believe in medicine–they’ve gone through rigorous education and know the best standards of care. Medicine is what they’ve seen help their own patients time and time again. At odds with that are the family’s concerns about the medication side effects, plus confusion about when and how much medicine to give without any past experience with pill-popping. There are communication problems, not just because of the language barrier, but because of differing values and differing beliefs about the cause of illness. The title of the book in fact comes from the Hmong family’s name for epilepsy, signifying that a child who experiences seizures is spiritually anointed, and that not every seizure is a sign of illness. Author Anne Fadiman does an excellent job of reporting both perspectives, and as the reader I find her to be objective. In the end, it’s a story that left me conflicted, but in a way that prompted my own growth and reflection.

Health Affirmation

I believe in my body’s goodness. I believe in caring for it. I believe in its power.

The body is complex beyond understanding. As my own chiropractor says, we’re never going to figure it all out! To bridge that gap between known and unknown, there’s belief that the body has mechanisms and means to house your essence and offer you a good life.

Nutrition Spotlight

Summer is upon us, and with summer comes plenty of travel. Here are two supplements I suggest keeping on hand for any upcoming trips. (For trips a week or less, the smaller size bottle of each will suffice.)

Immuplex

This is a Standard Process product that gives an overall immune boost. It contains zinc, vitamin C, and more to help your white blood cells function as they should. Plan on starting Immuplex a week before you leave and then each day of your travels.

Zypan

This Standard Process supplement is one of my favorites. It improves digestion of all three macronutrients: protein, carbs, and fats. Whenever my stomach feels unsettled after eating, Zypan resolves it. If you take risks with your food choices–eating street food, drinking tap water overseas, you may catch yourself dealing with unfamiliar strains of bacteria, which Zypan will help you digest to smithereens. You don’t have to take it with every meal, but when you do, be sure to take Zypan within an hour of eating to get its benefits.

Order Immuplex and Zypan at Sequoia Chiropractic’s Fullscript storefront, where all orders automatically receive a 10% discount and ship directly to you. To receive Dr. Phillips’ expert nutritional guidance, fill out this form to get started with a free 15-minute nutrition consultation available to newsletter subscribers.

Sign up for your nutrition consultation now

One More Thing

Bodies is a podcast documentary in which each episode investigates a medical mystery. Sometimes the problem is in the body, and sometimes the problem is in the system, whether that be the social system or medical system or something else entirely. Creator Allison Behringer does a fantastic job of approaching each case with sensitivity and curiosity. Accompanying the podcast is an active Facebook group which invites all listeners to inquire about their own body’s mysteries and offer each other support and advice.

It’s finally summer!

See you in July. 🎆