Nutrition/Herbology
We know the body is a self-healing mechanism and our goal
as chiropractors is to reduce as much interference as possible to allow
the body to heal itself. In doing that, it’s helpful to view health
as a triangle with three components—structural, chemical and mental—forming
equilateral sides.
When any of the triangle’s sides are out of balance,
the patient’s
health is compromised and difficult to maintain. Thus, we should be
aware of all aspects of the triangle in providing care.
The Health Triangle
Structural: At the base of the triangle, we
begin with the feet, the foundation of the body. They provide support
when standing, walking or running, and they help protect the spine,
bones and soft tissues from damaging stress during movement.
Our feet perform better when all their muscles, arches and bones
are in their ideal stable positions. Pain from one part of the
body could be caused by a misalignment in the spine, perhaps caused
by unbalanced positioning in the feet. It’s important to
examine the feet; detect and eliminate subluxations; and evaluate
biomechanics and posture.
Utilizing specific techniques, we first correct the subluxation.
Then, we can educate patients about specific exercises for rehabilitation
they can use at home. They may even benefit from the use of adjunct
products, such as braces, pillows or custom-made orthotics, which
help stabilize the patient. Adjunct services complement your care
and give patients responsibility in maintaining their adjustments.
Emotional: The reduction of stress is a key factor
in improving the body’s ability to heal. We must evaluate
the influence stress plays in the healing process. Utilizing breathing,
visualization and relaxation techniques helps patients regain control
over stress, enhancing the healing process.
Chemical: While the medical profession uses chemicals
to control the body’s function, we try to remove as many
distractions to the body’s healing process as possible. This
includes lessening the dependence on unnecessary medications, and
most importantly, improving nutrition. |
Proper nutrition builds tissue and provides the basic raw materials
for normal body function. For example, fats are needed to produce hormones;
carbohydrates generate energy; and an appropriate amount of bacteria
breaks food down properly.
Elements Of Poor Nutrition
It is interesting to note that the top three
deadly diseases in the United States today are cardiovascular disease,
stroke and diabetes. The risks for all these diseases can be reduced
with better eating habits. Improved eating habits result in less obesity.
Studies show that 61 percent of the U.S. population is overweight,
and 27 percent are clinically obese, almost double the nuimber of obese
Americans in the 1970s. Society, social settings, business demands,
government policies and our high-stress lifestyles have enabled us to
reduce our nutritional priorities. Fast food has become a necessity for
our chaotic lifestyles, and fast food restaurants make indulging trouble-free
with their many “super-sized” options.
But many elements contribute to our lack of proper nutrition:
- Empty
calorie foods contain large amounts of calories with a low value of
essential vitamins, minerals and proteins.
- Processed foods contain much
added fat, sugar, sodium and chemical additives
- Milk and milk byproducts
can cause allergies, gastrointestinal disease, obesity, infectious
diseases and other problems.
- Fresh produce may have a decreased value
of vitamins and minerals due to poor soil quality.
We have an inadequate intake of water, an increased
consumption of animal fats and poor quality fats, and an increased intake
of soft drinks, which are high in phosphates.
The Road To Proper Nutrition
The consequences of our deprived diets include
poor anti-inflammatory effects, weak tissue repair and the degeneration
of a general level of health, wellness and fitness.
Proper nutrition, in conjunction with adjustments and necessary adjunct
services, offers patients a much better response to holding adjustments.
It is our responsibility to educate our patients of the role nutrition
plays in maintaining spinal corrections and helps them make nutritional
lifestyle changes. Patients can make their own nutritional adjustments
by:
- Eliminating foods that produce inflammatory responses, such as poor
quality fats, hydrogenated or saturated fats, arachadonic acid found
in animal fat and dairy products, and increasing the consumption of
fish and poultry without skin.
- Sufficient vegetable, fruit and olive oil consumption
insures an adequate intake of anti-inflammatory nutrients.
- Consuming
carbohydrates in the form of complex carbohydrates (such as whole-grain
and multi-grain foods) should be 40 to 50 percent of energy (calorie)
intake.
- Reducing fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of total caloric
intake and balancing it with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
- Consuming
protein at approximately 25 percent of the daily energy or caloric
intake. An adequate balance among carbohydrates, protein and fat insures
proper glycemic regulation.
- Increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables,
and whole-grain and legume products.
- Decreasing the consumption of butter,
fat and high dietary cholesterol sources.
- Decreasing the consumption of
sugar and hidden-sugar rich foods, including alcohol.
- Decreasing the consumption
of salt and hidden-salt rich foods.
But even with a higher quality diet, many patients may need supplements
to enhance the healing process and “get them over the hump.” Since
there are numerous nutritional companies, doctors must research and investigate
them to determine the best manufacturers and products, so that they can
be as well educated as possible.
Following is a partial list of supplements that may enhance the healing
process and assist in reducing the inflammatory response.
- Multiple vitamins and minerals
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Bioflavonoids/ antioxidants
- Essential fatty acids — fish oils,
flaxseed oil, olive oil
- Vitamin E
- Coenzyme Q10
- Chondroitin/Glucosamine
- Bromelain
While adjustments are essential in helping our patients reach their
optimal health, we cannot eliminate nutrition from our practice. At the
same time, supplements are not beneficial without adjustments. Keep in
mind, the whole is greater than the sum of parts.
|
