When you’re under the weather and just trying to get through the day, necessities like food are often the last things on your mind. You just want to feel better, and, honestly, even your favorite foods seem unappetizing when your nose is clogged, your throat is sore and you can’t taste a thing. However, making it a point to eat healthy foods while your sick can help speed up your recovery and may help you stay better longer.

Food fuels your body. When you’re sick, it’s important to give your digestive system a break by eating easily digestible, nutrient-dense foods. You’ll recover faster, and your immune system will become stronger. Here are a few ideas to get started…

• Start with soup, as bone broth contains minerals that can help boost your immune system.
• Consider adding yogurt with probiotics that can help improve your sleep, digestion, and overall immunity.
• Stick to lean meats, especially those with omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce any nagging inflammation.

Those same healthy foods that help you recover faster can keep you feeling and functioning better all year round. This week, try creating a simple calendar outlining your meals. Emphasize healthy, home-cooked meals which will strengthen your immune system (and possibly save you money!). And, don’t forget to join us for this month’s free workshop, where we’ll highlight more great nutrition advice to help you on your journey to a better immune system in 2019.

Source:Chicken soup inhibits neutrophil chemotaxis in vitro. Chest. Oct 2000
Probiotics and immune health. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology. Oct 2011
Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Dec 2002

Bottom Line: Thank goodness for the immune system! Did you know, you encounter bacteria that could make you sick each and every day? Your immune system is fighting to keep you healthy 24/7, and when it’s not at 100%, you’ll get a signal – like a runny nose – that sickness may be on the way. No one wants to be sick, and recent research indicates that some simple changes may help strengthen your immune system and keep you from getting sick.

Why it Matters: Most people who rarely get sick take proactive steps to keep their immune system in tip-top shape so it can fight off almost anything that it comes in contact with. By making smart choices like those here, you can ensure your immune system remains strong!

• Be sure to eat a healthy diet of veggies and lean meats to boost your immune system.
• Exercise daily to keep your body (and mind) strong.
• Stay adjusted to decrease stress and improve your overall well-being

Next Steps: Make this one of your healthiest years yet! Start taking proactive steps to boost your immune system today. A robust immune system will help you stay healthy, stay active, and keep enjoying the things you love with the people you love. And don’t forget to attend our upcoming wellness workshop where we’ll give you a custom-tailored plan to help you boost your immunity in 21 days!

Science Source:Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. The Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Dec 2002 | Medline Plus. Exercise and Immunity. 2017 | Glucose Metabolic Changes in the Brain and Muscles of Patients with Nonspecific Neck Pain Treated by Spinal Manipulation Therapy. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017

Bottom Line:

Most of us know someone who doesn’t have the best sleeping patterns. Not surprisingly, many of us think of ourselves when this topic comes up because we’re all too familiar with the fatigue, brain fog, and worn- down feeling that comes with missing out on a good night’s sleep, especially during the holidays. However, by committing to a consistent sleep schedule and staying well-adjusted, you can set the groundwork for keeping your energy up and keeping your body performing at it’s best.

Why it Matters:

Sleep plays a significant role in your overall health. Did you know that chronic sleep deficiency has been linked to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more?! In fact, your sleep patterns directly contribute to your overall physical and mental energy levels and the overall function of your immune system. When you enter that sleeping state, your brain and central nervous system are hard at work preparing you for the next day. It makes sense then that lack of sleep is often tied to those physical ailments mentioned previously, as well as a decrease in your immune system’s ability to fight common infections. The good news? Getting just 7-8 hours per night will allow your body to feel and function better.

• Getting enough sleep will help you feel more energized and experience less fatigue.
• Lack of sleep has been linked to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.
• Consistently getting 7-8 hours of sleep may reduce your likelihood of getting sick.

Next Steps:

Set aside some time to unwind each night. Indulge in a chapter of that new best seller or simply get comfy, close your eyes, and drift off with some calming music or your favorite meditation audio. If muscle tension, spasms, or pain are keeping you up at night, please let us know. We would be honored to create a specific care plan to help you get the most out of your precious hours of rest. Just give us a call!

Science Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. June 7, 2017, Harvard Health Publishing. January 2006

Bottom Line:

Did you know that recent studies indicate that over 54% of people are stressed by the amount of stress in their lives? That’s a lot of stress! Stress in our shoulders. Stress in our neck. It’s no secret that muscle tension in those areas can contribute to headaches and neck and back pain. What you may not know, however, is that chronic stress can decrease your energy levels, increasing the likelihood that you’ll experience irritability, illness, and even depression. Hold on – there’s good news on the other side of that coin! There are, in fact, some very simple ways that you can begin to dramatically lower your stress levels and boost your energy levels. Keep reading…

Why it Matters:

The first and best way to improve your overall health and happiness is motion. We know we are built to move. We know we’re not meant to be sedentary creatures, and improving our spinal motion, or segmental motion, is one of the ways that Chiropractic adjustments can specifically help you move and feel better. How? Studies have shown that Chiropractic care can significantly reduce that nagging muscle tension in the shoulders, positively impacting your pain and stress levels and your range of motion. Researchers observed:

• A bilateral reduction in cervical muscle tension following a Chiropractic adjustment.
• Metabolic changes in the brain and skeletal muscles, as well as reductions in subjective pain, muscle tension following a Chiropractic adjustment

Next Steps:

Get active. Get adjusted. And, if you know someone who gets predictably sick or stressed every year around the holidays, show them you care and share this research with them. You may just be able to help them have a happier and healthier holiday season!

Science Source: Glucose Metabolic Changes in the Brain and Muscles of Patients with Nonspecific Neck Pain Treated by Spinal Manipulation Therapy, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2017. Article ID 4345703, Central Motor Excitability Changes After Spinal Manipulation: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. Volume 25. Number 1. January 2002 Stress in America Survey. American Psychological Association. 2010

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Fact: a simple 10-15 minute walk can be all it takes to help you feel more energized. That’s right. The key to boosting your energy is staying active! Studies have shown that even moderate exercise that gets your blood pumping and that oxygen flowing can increase your energy levels. And that’s not all…

Why it Matters:

Moderate exercise does more than just help train the heart to work more efficiently. Keeping active also promotes the release of endorphins in your body, which makes you feel happier overall and can even help you sleep better. What’s more, your immune system can also function better with consistent exercise, which reduces your likelihood of getting sick. Combine all that with Chiropractic care and you may be well on your way to staying healthy and energized all year long.

•   A simple 10-15 minute walk can improve your energy level by over 20%.
•   Regular exercise may help you sleep better and minimize your likelihood of getting sick.
•   Exercise releases endorphins, helping you feel more energized and happier.

Next Steps:

Make a plan. Start today by picking out just 3 days this week to take a 10-15 minute walk. Be sure to add it to your schedule or to set recurring reminders on your smartphone to help you stick with it. And of course, be sure to stop in and see us! Chiropractic care may be able to help keep you pain-free so you can maximize your efforts.

Science Source: Sports Med. Endorphins and exercise. 1984, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. February 2008

One of the overarching questions people have about chiropractic is, DOES IT WORK??!!

I’m going to answer that for you over the next few months. I’ll share my own experience with helping many people on their healing journeys, and some of the research that backs up what we do as chiropractors. Watch for new blog posts and social media posts as we delve into the many things that chiropractic care can help with, and why it works.

We are going to move into November by tackling neck pain. We’ll talk about how to get rid of a stiff neck, why your neck might hurt, solutions to neck pain, and daily habits that might be contributing to your neck pain.

Have you heard of the Stop the Bleed initiative? After the Sandy Hook school shooting, several professional and government groups (American College of Surgeons, National Security Council, US Military, FBI, etc) came together to form recommendations to save more lives during mass casualty events.

Stop the Bleed is an initiative that came from this group. Their goal is to train every American in basic bleeding control techniques. When there are accidents that cause bleeding, or mass casualty events, many of the deaths come from bleeding that wasn’t stopped.

There is often a period of time after bleeding starts before professional help is able to arrive. In a school shooting situation, it can be many hours before the scene is cleared for healthcare workers to come onto the scene. Help given by lay people before EMS arrives can be life saving!

The other goal of the Stop the Bleed initiative is to place bleeding control kits around the community in places like schools, churches, stadiums, and community centers.

Stop the Bleed has over 40,000 instructors worldwide. There are several professions that are able to be certified instructors of this program, and chiropractic is one of those professions! Chiropractic is concerned with health, and preventing life-threatening problems. We are honored to be on the list of possible Stop the Bleed instructors. It is a powerful thing when different healthcare professionals work together towards the common good.

We want to push this initiative forward in our community, so we are holding a Stop the Bleed class in our office this week – Thursday, September 19th at 5:30pm. It is a free class. It only takes 30 minutes to learn how to save a life from a bleeding emergency!

I want to answer some of the questions you may have about these liquid vitamins here on our blog:

1. Why are you carrying these vitamins? My family has used these vitamins in our home for several months, and we really love them! We haven’t found anywhere else locally where you can buy this product. We want to help you have access locally to things that can improve your health.
2. How do they taste? The morning vitamin is raspberry flavored, and the nighttime is creamy coconut. They really taste pretty good. We sometimes mix them with a little bit of juice for our kids.
3. How many servings are in a bottle? The bottle says 30-32 servings, however, MaryRuth Organics recommends that adults start with 1/4 to 1/2 of a dose. That may be all your body needs. You may get many more than 30 servings from a bottle.
4. Can my kids take these vitamins? Yes! All of our kids use these vitamins. Our youngest will be 2 this fall, and she just takes 1/4 teaspoon. The middle two kids take 1/2 teaspoon, and our preteen takes 1 teaspoon. MaryRuth Organics recommends you talk with your healthcare provider about recommended dosing for your children.
5. Why liquid? Liquids are easier for our bodies to digest and use than hard capsules or tablets. Some studies have shown that liquids have 97% bioavailability to our bodies, and capsules as little as 3%.
6. How much does a bottle cost? We sell these particular morning and nighttime vitamins for $40 a bottle. We believe they are so much better than what you can buy at the grocery store!

Hurting your back at work is a very costly problem, both for patients and for our country. Spinal surgery after an injury at work is a large part of this cost. Back surgery can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000. Evidence that spinal surgery improves pain and function is not particularly good. Despite this, spinal surgery rates continue to rise.

A study conducted in 2013 looked at nearly 2000 employees who hurt their backs badly at work. In looking at their workers’ compensation records, they found that those who saw a surgeon first after their injury were much more likely to have surgery than if they saw a primary care physician first. Workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had even lower rates of spine surgery.

Only 1.5% of those who saw a chiropractor first for their injury received surgery.

Over 40% of those who saw a surgeon first received surgery in the three years following their injury. Reducing unnecessary spine surgery is safer, lowers costs, and improves patient outcomes.

This study also found that those workers who first saw a chiropractor for their injury had lower rates of chronic work disability. Chiropractic care helped! It worked better than many other treatments for back injury.

If you hurt your spine at work, see a chiropractor first!