Rice and beans is a well-liked combination of foods that is not only delicious, but also good for you. Other well-known examples of food combinations, such as corn and lima beans (succotash), tomatoes and avocados, and even orange juice and oatmeal, provide benefits beyond those gained by eating these sound nutritional choices individually.1
For example, the combination of rice and beans provides complete dietary protein (containing all the essential amino acids we need to build all the other proteins in our bodies). Similarly, the succotash combination of lima beans and corn contains high concentrations of essential amino acids. When you combine avocados and tomatoes, the fat from the avocado helps your body more efficiently use heart-healthy and cancer-fighting antioxidants such as lycoprene contained in the tomato. A heart-healthy breakfast consisting of real oatmeal, such as oatmeal made from rolled oats or steel cut oats, and real orange juice (not from concentrate) provides a potent combination of phenols that are associated with reduced atherosclerosis and cancer. 2,3
These combinations are specific examples of the more general principle of food combining by which you combine proteins and complex carbohydrates at every meal. When you combine these complementary sources of nutrition on a regular basis, you retrain your body's metabolism. By consuming a "slow-burning" energy source, you're providing high-quality fuel for the next three to four hours. Several very good things occur as a result. Energy utilization is optimized, that is, your body gets more benefit out of every calorie it's burning. Additionally, insulin levels are stabilized throughout the day. Over time, food combining helps a person become a leaner machine and helps reduce the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. These benefits are especially important for people who have been told they are hypoglycemic or pre-diabetic. Of course, you should always check with your doctor to make sure a food combining strategy is right for you.
When you add a program of regular, vigorous exercise to your food combining lifestyle choice, you obtain even more profound benefits. The vigorous exercise you're doing raises your body's basal metabolic rate. Your body begins to burn calories even when you're asleep. Owing to the increase in lean muscle mass you're gaining from exercising over time, you're burning more calories throughout the day. You find yourself craving more nutritious foods, that is, those that will provide higher-quality nutrition, such as the nutrition contained in such combinations as rice and beans and oatmeal and orange juice. Thus, your positive lifestyle choices contain their own positive feedback system. The better choices you make, the healthier you become, and the healthier you want to be. The long-term results are enhanced health and well being for you, your family, and your friends.
1Liu RH: Health-promoting components of fruits and vegetables in the diet. Adv Nutr 4(3):384S-392S, 2013
2Hu D, et al: Fruits and vegetables consumption and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Stroke 45(6):1613-1619, 2014
3Thomburg KL, Challis JR: How to build a healthy heart from scratch. Adv Exp Med Biol 814:205-216, 2014
The days are long, the weather's warm, the sky is blue . . . it's summer and we're ready to enjoy the great American pastime - road trips!
We want to get to wherever we're going safely - and healthily, too. A safe trip is ensured by following the rules of the road and practicing good driving habits. A healthy trip is ensured by bringing along snacks that fill us with fuel and are packed with healthful nutrients.
And a fun trip is ensured by keeping the kids entertained with plenty of music, games, and electronic gadgets.
Being a safe driver consists of continuously practicing many small habits.1,2 Keeping your eyes on the road is a given. When you need to check how the kids are doing in the back seat, just flick your eyes to the rear-view mirror. Don't turn your head around - instead, make eye contact with them in the mirror. Your kids can read your eyes pretty well - they don't need to see your face to know what you want them to do.
Keep checking the traffic around you. Use all three mirrors to see what's going on - who's behind you and who's on your right and left. Always make sure you have enough space to stop short or make a quick lane change if needed. If you're boxed in, all you can do when confronted with an obstacle is crash.
Maintain a minimum safe distance (MSD) from the car in front of you. The MSD between two cars traveling at 65 MPH on the freeway is three seconds. Find a landmark and start counting as the car in front of you passes it. If you reach it in less than three seconds there's not enough space between you and the first car.
And of course, only use a hands-free cell phone.
What about food? On longer trips, good snacks are key - for both the adults and the kids.
Kids want to eat chips, cookies, and candy.3 The best we can do is bring along more nutritious alternatives as well and encourage our kids to mix and match. Energy bars combining 20 grams of protein and 25 grams of carbohydrate are terrific. These chocolate-coated complete small meals have only 5 grams of fat and 300 calories. Juices without sugar additives provide energy and vitamins. Bananas, apples, carrots, and celery can be sliced and carried in plastic bags for no-mess access.
Bring plenty of water. Drinking enough water keeps everyone alert and focused. This is particularly important for the driver, as well as the passengers. Drinking enough water is a subtle way to keep everyone's spirits up, ensuring a happy, fun trip.
Road trips help families bond and create life-long memories. A little preparation goes a long way toward making these family outings safe and fun!
1Verschuur WL, Hurts K: Modeling safe and unsafe driving behaviour. Accid Anal Rev 40(2):644-656, 2008
2Donmez B, et al: Mitigating driver distractions with retrospective and concurrent feedback. Accid Anal Prev 40(2):776-786, 2008
3Contento IR, et al: Enhancing personal agency and competence in eating and moving. Formative evaluation of a middle school curriculum. J Nutr Educ Behav 39(5 Suppl):S179-S186, 2007
Did you ever think your health and well-being are important factors in the health and well-being of the planet? It's true. The choices each of us makes each and every day are important for our family's welfare as well as the welfare of our neighborhood, our community, our city, our country, and our global society.
We don't often consider that a healthy personal lifestyle - relating to fitness and nutrition - has an impact on the environment and the global biosphere. But our personal choices and actions do matter. Our life-affirming choices to get fit, be fit, and eat right affect everyone and everything around us. How you get to work is a perfect example.
Of course, most of us drive to work, as it's a lifetime habit, and we don't even think about it. But, driving always produces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - every gallon of gas burned pumps 17 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Biking to work and walking to work are fitness-promoting activities that have
a double benefit.1,2 You're exercising on your workdays and you're actively
helping to reduce GHG emissions and stabilize the Earth's climate.
If it's too far to walk or bike to your place of employment, arrange to car pool with co-workers and walk or bike to their house on the days when you're not the designated driver.
Planting a garden or participating in the activities of a community garden is a health-promoting action step that has a triple benefit.
First, you're producing or helping to produce foods that are grown locally. Foods consumed
in the United States travel an average of 1500 miles to reach your local supermarket. Foods grown locally eliminate almost all of the fossil fuel resources required to transport non-local items.
Second, you're adding really fresh vegetables to your family's diet, providing vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals required for abundant good health.
Third, gardening is exercise - the kind of exercise people used to get when they didn't sit in chairs at desks all day long.
The benefits of health-promoting activities keep on coming.3 For the most part, healthy people don't wind up in the local hospital emergency room. Resource saved include fossil fuels burned by high-speed ambulances, fossil fuels burned to produce electricity used to power life-saving medical devices, and energy utilized to produce the vast amounts of medical supplies consumed in an emergency procedure, including syringes, IV set-ups, and towels, wipes, and disinfectants.
Being a healthy individual as a member of a healthy family has a huge multiplying effect. Your chiropractor knows that all body systems are deeply interconnected and must work together to produce good health. So too are the many different living systems that make up Planet Earth. Your chiropractor can provide you with detailed information about good nutrition and good exercise that can help make a real difference in your health and the health of your community.
1Villegas R, et al: The cumulative effect of core lifestyle behaviours on the prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidemia. BMC Public Health 13(8):210, 2008
2Christie BR, et al: Exercising our brains: how physical activity impacts synaptic plasticity in the dentate gyrus. Neuromolecular Med 10(2):47-58, 2008
3Booher MA, Smith BW: Physiological effects of exercise on the cardiopulmonary system. Clin Sports Med 22(1):1-21, 2003
Summertime is fun time - swimming, surfing, beach volleyball, beach barbecues, and lots of sunshine!
We want to be sure to enjoy ourselves all summer long and not be slowed down by the speed-bumps of sunburn, muscle aches and pains, and back strain. There's plenty we can do for prevention and to make sure we continue to have fun for the whole summer and beyond!
Sunburn first. This is now a real problem for almost everyone. More harmful ultraviolet radiation is reaching the surface of the planet, and that means it's reaching us! When we were kids we could get away without putting on sunscreen. Now we really need protection - for kids as well as adults.
Everyone needs to use a sunscreen. These products are rated by the amount of sun protection factor they offer - the SPF. Generally, sunburn can be avoided by using a product with an SPF of 15. Infants and children should be protected with an SPF of 30. Babies younger than six months of age should be kept out of the sun.
Both sweat and water reduce SPF protection. So if you've been in the ocean or the pool or have worked up a sweat playing volleyball or Frisbee, reapply your sunscreen right away. If you're fair-skinned or have a receding hairline, wear a hat. Protecting your lips is important too - lip balms are available with an SPF of 30.
The right kind of sunglasses is important - not all sunglasses are created equally. For proper protection, choose sunglasses that offer ultraviolet (UV) protection - helping to avoid cataracts and other eye diseases. Protection should block 99% of UVB and 95% of UVA radiation.
Getting ready for exercise is next on our summer-fun agenda. Swimming, surfing, and volleyball all require a good amount of flexibility. It's a bad idea to jump in the ocean after having spent the last six months sitting on your couch playing "Grand Theft Auto" or "World of Warcraft". The first big wave may knock you over and sprain your back!
Getting ready is important. Begin by doing daily gentle stretches for your major leg muscles - the hamstrings, quads, and calves. Stretching these big muscle groups reflexively relaxes and lengthens the muscles of your lower back.
Also, start doing abdominal exercises - leg lifts for the lower abs and crunches for the middle and upper abs. Strong abdominal muscles translates into support for your lower back.
Learning how to do a set of core exercises is very valuable. These exercises specifically strengthen the inner wall of your abdominals and lower back, resulting in more strength, more flexibility, and better balance. The only equipment required is an exercise mat.
Your chiropractor will be glad to provide information, guidance, and recommendations for a range of exercises and stretches that will help keep you healthy all summer long and beyond!
1Holick MF: Sunlight, UV-radiation, vitamin D and skin cancer. How much sunlight do we need? Adv Exp Med Biol 624:1-15, 2008
2Moehrle M: Outdoor sports and skin cancer. Clin Dermatol 26(1):12-15, 2008
3Urquhart DM, et al: Abdominal muscle recruitment during a range of voluntary exercises. Man Ther 10(2):144-153, 2005
Like Goldilocks, we want things to work out just right. When it comes to our health, though, things don't work out just right by themselves.
Neglect causes many serious health problems. Abuse - in the form of unhealthy behaviors - causes many additional serious disorders.
Every day on TV and radio news programs we hear about the importance of healthy eating and exercise.1 But most of us don't know how to apply these recommendations to ourselves and to our families. The Goldilocks approach could resolve a lot of the confusion and provide a great deal of value.
How would Goldilocks put a healthy lifestyle into practice? "Just right" would be her mantra. Not too much, not too little, but just right. How would Goldilocks approach a healthy diet? She would choose a food plan that didn't require a lot of effort. She'd quickly teach herself to read labels and count calories, and once she'd done that she'd learn a core group of easy-to-prepare recipes. She'd train herself to go shopping only once a week and she'd prepare a shopping list before each trip.
Goldilocks wants her family to eat healthily, but she wisely doesn't want food to be a big preoccupation. She wants this lifestyle change to be a no-brainer.
What about exercise? Goldilocks is pretty tired of listening to her friends smugly talking about how good they feel and how they went from a size whatever to two sizes less. Goldilocks want to feel good, too, but doesn't want to take on more than she can handle. She wants a "just right" exercise plan.2,3
Goldilocks talks to a friend who is just as busy as she is and learns a few secrets. First, she learns how to do a high-intensity cardio workout in only 15 minutes. "That's all?" she asks her friend, who reassures her that 15 minutes is the new 30. Next, her friend explains how to do a complete program of strength training in two 30-minute sessions - done a day or two apart, of course. "Only 30 minutes?" Goldilocks is skeptical. "Thirty is the new 60!" her friend affirms. "Check-out my arms. That's all muscle, girl!"
After only a few weeks on her new fitness program, Goldilocks is so pleased with the results that she shares what she's doing with her husband and teenage son and daughter. Months later, everyone in her family notices a rekindled togetherness and family spirit.
Goldilocks shares her experiences with her chiropractor and admits she wishes she'd acted on her chiropractor's nutritional and exercise recommendations sooner. "No worries," her chiropractor replies. (Goldilocks lives in California.) "I'm giving a health care and wellness talk at our local high school next week. Would you like to be part of the talk and share what you've been learning?"
"I'd love to!" exclaims Goldilocks. "Thank you again, Doctor, for always helping everyone in my family!"
1Loimaala A, et al: Effect of long-term endurance and strength training on metabolic control and arterial elasticity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Cardiol 103(7):972-977, 2009
2Monteiro AG, et al: Acute physiological responses to different circuit training protocols. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 48():438-442, 2008
3Lakka TA, Bouchard C: Physical activity, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Handb Exp Pharmacol 170:137-163, 2005
Health insurance costs are out of control. We're all painfully aware of this inflationary spiral. Monthly premiums are through the roof. Co-payments keep going up and up. Out-of-pocket expenses are so high we often wonder what we're saving by purchasing health insurance at all.
Every family has been hit hard by these financial burdens. If you're self-employed, your health insurance premiums for adequate individual coverage are close to $1000 per month. These bills are too high for many small business owners, so they opt for catastrophic coverage. These policies still cost $4000 to $5000 per year. If you encounter medical problems, you have to pay up to $5000 or more in out-of-pocket expenses.
What solutions, if any, are available to U.S. citizens? The Federal government may or may not address our crumbling health care system in the next presidential administration. Individuals and families need to take steps on their own to ensure better health. Improved health and well-being always translate into reduced health care costs.1,2
Health-affirming lifestyle choices make a real difference in both short-term and long-term well-being. Old habits may need to be broken. New habits may need to be nurtured. The outcomes will be better health and increased savings by reducing health care expenditures.
Nutrition and fitness are often the primary categories needing improvement. Obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, and diabetes are a few of the main culprits raising our national health insurance costs. Each of these can be positively impacted by achieving a better diet and engaging in regular exercise.
Stopping smoking. Reducing alcohol consumption. Replacing soda with water. Cutting-down on snacks. Cutting-down on processed carbohydrates - white bread and white rice. Reducing portion size. Taking all these action steps, progressively and over time, will improve your overall state of health.3
Be in it for the long haul. Change doesn't happen overnight - it's a process. We're talking about a lifetime of good health supported by good habits.
Chiropractic health care is an important part of the process of restoring well-being and reducing health care costs. Regular chiropractic visits help a person stay active and are a key component in returning to fitness. Chiropractic treatment helps to improve flexibility, balance, and stability, increasing your ability to exercise and making it more fun.
Use your chiropractor as a resource as you work on improving your health. Your chiropractor will have many valuable recommendations regarding healthful nutrition and healthful exercise, and will be glad to offer guidance and support in your journey to good health.
1Fronstin P: Health promotion and disease prevention: a look at demand management programs. EBRI Issue Brief 177:1-14, 1996
2Parks KM, Steelman LA: Organizational wellness programs: a meta-analysis. J Occup Health Psychol 13(1):58-68, 2008
3Pearce PZ: Exercise is medicine. Curr Sports Med Rep 7(3):171-175, 2008
As we get older, most of us begin to experience the acceleration of the passage of time. The sensation of time passing gets faster and faster, until for many of us weeks begin to feel like days and months begin to feel like weeks. This is very disconcerting and we'd like to be able to slow things down. We'd like to make the months and years whiz by a little less quickly. This isn't possible, of course, from the point of view of time itself, and the only comfort may lie in the fact that everyone else is experiencing similar phenomena. "Time flies" is a common expression. But there are solutions, relative ones, by which we may get a better grasp on our personal relationship to time and time's effect on our physical bodies.
The first solution is associated with the concept of present time consciousness. In other words, the more you actually experience the present moment itself, the more you will be participating in what these moments offer and the more you will be getting out of the experiences of which your life is comprised. "Being present" is a skill that gets stronger with practice. There's always the tendency for our minds to wander off on any other track than the one we want to be on, that is, being present. But with practice our ability to be present in the moment expands. One of the remarkable benefits of this practice is that our experience of time passing slows down. By being present, our hours, days, and weeks become much more meaningful. We experience more of life and the passage of time no longer washes over us like an unending series of 20-foot waves.
The second solution involves taking better care of ourselves. When we're healthy and well, each day is more enjoyable. When we're healthy and well, our physical state is not a daily concern and we're free to do what we want. We can read, study, exercise, engage in new work activities, or simply relax and watch a movie without the concerns and constraints of physical pain and disease. Our ability to participate in these unique experiences enriches our lives and makes the passage of time a joy rather than a burden. But as with the skill of being present, the skill of being healthy and well requires practice. Such practice takes the form of eating a nutritious diet,1,2 doing regular vigorous exercise,3 and getting sufficient rest. With these practices in place, we are well on our way to increasing our long-term levels of health and wellness.
Thus, although we cannot control the actual passage of time, we can control our relationship to the phenomenon of time passing. By learning the skill of present time consciousness and practicing healthy behaviors, we become able to add more life to our years and may even be adding more years to our lives.
1Paddon-Jones D, et al: Protein and healthy aging. Am J Clin Nutr 2015 Apr 29. pii: ajcn084061. [Epub ahead of print]
2Royston KJ, Tollefsbol TO: The Epigenetic Impact of Cruciferous Vegetables on Cancer Prevention. Curr Pharmacol Rep 1(1):46-51, 2015
3Gonzales JU: Do older adults with higher daily ambulatory activity have lower central blood pressure? Aging Clin Exp Res 2015 May 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Having a pair of healthy hips is a key to healthy aging. But healthy hips are not only important for people in their 60s, 70s, and beyond. Your hips are one of your most important structural components, regardless of how old you are. Whether you're 20, 30, or 40, your hip joints provide biomechanical support to your entire body. Thus, keeping your hips healthy is a necessary consideration for everyone who wants to be healthy and well throughout a long life.
Healthy hips do not happen automatically. Your body's physiology follows the biomechanical principle of "use it or lost it". Muscles, bones, and joints that do work on a regular basis are strengthened and enhanced. Those musculoskeletal elements that don't do much physical work are broken down, so that molecular building blocks such as amino acids and nutrients such as calcium can be put to better use elsewhere. In other words, if you're haven't done much exercise in a while, weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees, and ankles will begin to degrade. However, even as these joints lose optimal structural integrity, gravitational forces persist. The long-term result of such weakened joints is strains and sprains, degenerative arthritis, and possibly other inflammatory conditions. These disorders likely involve daily ongoing pain, which may become moderate or severe.
In the absence of conservative treatment and rehabilitative exercise, such conditions may ultimately require joint replacement. These procedures are becoming increasingly common, with total hip replacements and total knee replacements being performed on younger and younger patients. For example, annual rates for total hip replacement in the United States in patients aged 45 and older have almost doubled between 2000 and 2010.1
Importantly, many hip joint problems can be prevented by instituting appropriate lifestyle changes. As the cause of many of these degenerative conditions is long-term lack of use, the solution lies in activity and physical work. In Western nations, physical labor is becoming increasingly uncommon. Most of us work in service-type industries and spend most of our days sitting at a desk. As a result, physical work is now typically obtained by engaging in regular, vigorous exercise. By performing five 30-minute sessions of vigorous weight-bearing exercise every week, we will restore and maintain sufficient healthy stress on our muscles, bones, and joints.
As these musculoskeletal structures undergo physical loads and perform mechanical work, your body responds by making them stronger.2-4 New blood vessels are built to supply these structures with increasing amounts of oxygen and other nutrients. New cells are built to support existing tissues. Worn-out cells are removed more efficiently. The entire musculoskeletal system is revitalized in response to regular, vigorous exercise. The long-term result is healthy hips, knees, and ankles, as well as a healthy spine. These weight-bearing structures work synergistically to help provide you with long-term health.
1Hospitalization for Total Hip Replacement Among Inpatients Aged 45 and Over: United States, 2000–2010. NCHS Data Brief No. 186, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 2015
2Qian JG, et al: Effectiveness of Selected Fitness Exercises on Stress of Femoral Neck using Musculoskeletal Dynamics Simulations and Finite Element Model. J Hum Kinet 41:59-70, 2014
3Bolam KA, et al: The effect of physical exercise on bone density in middle-aged and older men: a systematic review. Osteoporosis Int 24(11):2749-2762, 2013
4Hill KD, et al: Individualized home-based exercise programs for older people to reduce falls and improve physical performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas 2015 Apr 29. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.04.005. [Epub ahead of print]
Here come the holidays - Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, and New Year's. And the travel - Thanksgiving is one of the biggest travel days and the day before Christmas is just as busy.
If you're flying, you know what to expect - long lines, delays, crowded flights. But knowing what's to come doesn't necessarily provide reassurance. Traveling - particularly traveling by plane - makes many people crazy. Sitting in the terminal, waiting for your boarding call, you can see the deep lines of care, worry, and anxiety etched into peoples' faces.
However, whereas air travel may not be the funnest thing in the world, there are many action steps individuals and families can take to de-stress the experience. Traveling doesn't have to mean losing your mind and getting all wound up with tension and mental and physical strain.1,2
Here's a Top Eight List of things to do in the days before your flight and then during your flight -
Before the flight -
Starting your packing early will make a huge difference in how you feel on the day of the flight. Imagine what it would be like if you didn't have to dash all over your house minutes before you're supposed to leave for the airport, searching for that critical thing you must bring with you.
Make a list and make a plan. Promise yourself you're going to have everything packed, including the kids' backpacks, by the time you go to sleep on the night before you travel. You'll be amazed at how relaxed everyone is on the actual travel day, in sharp contrast to the usual mayhem and fighting.
A good supply of healthy snacks will keep everyone's energy level up, and minimize in-flight crankiness due to hunger and low blood sugar levels. 3 Most airlines don't even serve food anymore, and even if they did, you don't want it. Bring your own low-fat protein energy bars; little plastic cups filled with peanut butter; low-calorie muffins; trail mix with nuts, dried fruits, and chocolate; string cheese; low-fat crackers; and plenty of water.
Be sure to do light exercise and stretches the week of your flight. You're going to be lugging heavy baggage, and want to be ready for some awkward schlepping, dragging, and lifting.
Seeing your chiropractor before a trip will help ensure your body is in peak condition for any unexpected jars and jolts. And even when you're well-prepared, travel still has its stressful moments. Chiropractic treatment helps ensure that your nervous system will be flexible and adaptable, adjusting to whatever surprises are in store during your trip.
1Waterhouse J, et al: The stress of travel. J Sports Sci 22(10):946-965, 2004
2Reilly T, et al: Jet lag and air travel: implications for performance. Clin Sports Med 24(2):367-380, 2005
3Waterhouse J, et al: Factors associated with food intake in passengers on long-haul flights. Chronobiol Int 23(5):985-1007, 2006
Chiropractic care is the one form of health care that keeps on giving. Chiropractic care certainly helps people to recover from short-term health problems, but this powerful method of healing also helps people stay well and assists in preventing new problems from developing.
Your chiropractor treats a wide variety of musculoskeletal problems. Neck pain, back pain, pain that travels from the neck to the arm and hand, pain that travels from the back to the leg and foot, headaches, and muscle spasms are conditions commonly treated by chiropractic care. Your chiropractor also treats many types of exercise- and sports-related injuries, such as rotator cuff injuries, tennis elbow, wrist sprains, knee injuries, ankle sprains, and shin splints. Repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome are also treated by chiropractic care. Also, chiropractic care may be a valuable addition to treatment for sleep disorders, digestive problems, menstrual cramps, asthma, and various allergies. Chiropractic care may also be of great assistance during pregnancy, in helping to relieve neck pain and back pain and to ease the process of delivery.
Chiropractic care can be beneficial for so many health problems owing to the fact that chiropractic care directly affects the functioning of your nerve system. Your nerve system, consisting of your brain, spinal cord, and nerves that branch out to the rest of your body, is your master physiologic system. Your nerve system, by sending signals to every cell, tissue, and organ in your body, controls all the other systems. Your heart relies on the nerve system so that it can pump blood at the right time and in the right amount.1 Your small intestine relies on the nerve system so that it can complete the digestion of food and transmit usable nutrients to the bloodstream.2 Your white blood cells and other immune system agents rely on the nerve system so that they can quickly identify and destroy foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses.3
But your nerve system can break down, in a sense, if spinal nerve interference is present. Such nerve interference, caused by irritation and inflammation of spinal nerves, is caused by loss of full mobility of spinal vertebras. Limited spinal motion irritates the muscles that move the spinal bones and the ligaments that hold those bones together. Inflamed spinal muscles and spinal ligaments cause spinal nerve inflammation. The immediate result is distortion in the quality and flow of information sent from the brain to the rest of the body. Too much or too little information is sent to the cells, tissues, and organs. The messages they receive are the wrong messages, or the messages arrive at the wrong time. The outcome is decreased functioning and/or inappropriate functioning of many other physiologic systems. Thus, spinal nerve interference is one of the primary causes of the many problems that may bring a person to his or her chiropractor's office.
Chiropractic care helps reduce and remove nerve interference by restoring increased functioning of your spinal column. The direct result is improved overall functioning of the rest of your body. By directly focusing on your spine and nerve system, your chiropractor can help restore quality of life and overall health and well-being.
1Muller MD, et al: Mental stress elicits sustained and reproducible increases in skin sympathetic nerve activity. Physiol Rep 2013 Mar 1(1). pii: e00002.
2Zhou G, et al: White-matter microstructural changes in functional dyspepsia: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Am J Gastroenterol 108(2):260-269, 2013
3Straub RH, et al: Role of neuroendocrine and neuroimmune mechanisms in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases-The 10-year update. Semin Arthritis Rheum 2013 May 31 doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2013.04.008 [Epub ahead of print]
