The "D" Word: Diet

 

The "D" word    Diet...  It is looked at as a swear word, but should it be?  Diet is defined as the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.  Your diet is the foods that you put into your mouth.  What does your diet consist of?  Are you giving your body nutrients?  We should STOP looking at it as a "restriction of calories".  A well balanced diet of all types of foods that nourish our body is what we should strive for.   Eat NUTRIENTS When we are ready to eat we should look at our meals as a way to put nutrients into our bodies.  Our plates should be 1/4 protein, 1/4 complex carbohydrate, and half veggie.   Our food should have tons of natural color (not artificial).  The food we eat should mostly have been alive at one time, or come from something that was.   Mindset We will not ALWAYS eat perfectly.  You have to leave room for fun, but I have noticed that if I tell myself "I am not a person that eats XYZ then I don't".  For example, I don't eat fast food.  I know it is bad for me so I don't eat it.  (Not more than about twice a year).  You can do that for anything.  I am not a person that drinks pop, eats sugar, eats gluten, eats dairy, etc...  Then you would be surprised at how much quicker it is to drop that habit.

Why would I adjust a baby?

 

Why would I adjust a baby?    Babies are smaller but still have a spine and joints.  They have that same spine their ENTIRE life.  Why would we want them to have a subluxation when we can fix it so easily?   Babies are subject to in-uterine constraint (tight quarters inside mom), the birth process (either vaginal or surgical), their head flopping, car seats, siblings, falls, etc.   They have a beautiful working spine that needs the same tender care we give ourselves as adults (if not better).   Fortunately, they usually respond very quickly to care.   15 Signs or Symptoms that your baby might need a chiropractor (They can have one or MANY of these) 1.  Persistent head rotation or tip/ Torticollis 2.  Difficulties nursing or bottle feeding 3.  Reflux 4.  Colic 5.  Gas issues 6.  "Angry" babies (balled up and fussy) 7. Long labors 8. Multiple birth (twins, triplets, etc) 9. Surgical birth 10. Excessive crying 11. Not sleeping well 12. Frequent illness (ex ear infections) 13. Tongue/lip tie or revision 14. Breech birth 15. Excessive spitting up Infant adjustment  The adjustment of a baby uses a VERY GENTLE but PRECISE touch.  I always explain to my new patient's parents that all I am doing is palpating up their spine until I find a vertebra that isn't moving.  Then I apply light pressure or sometimes a little vibration until the vertebra is moving.  It is so gentle.  Period.  I have adjusted hundreds of babies and had SO MUCH success with helping babies.  There is nothing better than helping parents have a calmer baby to take care of.

What is a Subluxation?

 

What is a subluxation?  Subluxations are something a chiropractor looks for in ANY joint in your body.  It simply is a joint that has abnormal motion and is usually in an abnormal position.   When a vertebra (spinal bone) is subluxated it can cause your nerves to work less optimally.  Those amazing nerves innervate every area of your body.  They are SUPER important.  We want those nerves to work at their full potential.  That is what chiropractors do that is so unique.  They adjust your spine, so your vertebra can move, then allowing your nerves to work more optimally.  That is the coolest part of my job in a nutshell.

Symptoms of a Subluxation 1.  Pain:  That is a discomfort whether you are touching it or not.  It can happen constantly, with certain movements, when sitting or standing, etc.   2. Tenderness:  This is pain with touch or pressure.   3. Muscle spasm:  Tightness in your muscles, knots, cramps etc.  4. Swelling:  Puffiness in the area 5. Redness/ heat: Slight redness, warm to the touch area, pimple forming 6. Nothing: Believe it or not MANY subluxations have no pain at all.  THIS is why it is SO important to see your trained chiropractor for regular adjustments.  Sometimes your body ignores issues because it is used to you not "fixing" it anyways.  Sometimes the subluxation is in an early or small stage.  Sometimes it is a subluxation that is in the later stages of treatment.  Pain can be an indicator, but it isn't always present.   What is an adjustment?   Simply...  it is a chiropractic manipulation of a joint that helps restore motion and correct the position.   Motion is so important in your body.  When your body isn't in motion (whole body, or part of the body) you age quickly.  (Ex: vertebrae that lose motion will end of with degenerative changes after a while.)   The body definitely needs more than one reminder of its role and that is why it usually takes more than one adjustment to restore motion in a joint.

Exercise!

 

Can exercise be fun and enjoyable?  The answer to the question "Can exercise be fun and enjoyable?" is a DEPENDS!  It depends on a few things.   1. Your mindset:  If you have a positive mindset around the idea of exercise it definitely helps.  If you decide it is a stress reliever for you, then it will be. If you find "exercise" in all the things you do, for example leisure walks, geocaching, yoga, running around after your kids, etc.   2. Your activity:  Have you found something that you love to do?  Do you like variety?  Do you like solo exercise or groups?  Do you like running, biking, swimming, yoga, hiking, volleyball, basketball, etc...  3. Your accountability:  Do you have someone that you share your exercise journey with?  Either exercising together or keeping someone informed of your progress.  Nowadays there are fun apps that you can compete with friends with your steps or time etc.   4.  Your priority:  If you make exercise a priority, and something that you do no matter what you start to feel better over time.  Your soreness changes.  Most people quit in the early weeks of exercise because of the soreness they get at going too hard too fast.  I challenge you to keep it up a little longer and you might change your mind.

Warm Up!  Before you do any form of exercise you should start with a warm up.  For long distance runners that can be the first few miles or minutes of your run done at a slower rate and then stop to stretch a little before you kick it up a notch.  If you are warming up to rake/shovel, play a kickball game with your kids, etc. just running in a place or doing 20 jumping jacks and stretching can go a LONG way.  This helps your muscle warm up and your are much less likely to injure yourself.  Cool Down The cool down is the time AFTER your exercise that allows your heart rate to come back to normal.  It is usually a slower version of what you were just doing with a stretch after the heart rate is in the more "normal" range and your breathing slows.  Some runners walk another 5 minutes or so after their run to achieve this.  Allowing your heart rate to slow down naturally and less abruptly is so much better for you.   Then STRETCH!  Flexibility is so important too!