4 min read
It can be challenging to feel your best in a modern world where poorly managed stress and junk food tend to be the norm for many. Taking your health into your own hands by eating a nutritious diet and utilizing holistic wellness practices such as chiropractic care is worth every bit of effort.
How Your Diet Affects Your Body & Health
“You are what you eat” is more than just an old saying. The food you put in your body helps fuel your metabolism and influences all of the intricate processes of your body. Healthy eating can help reduce your risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Eating unhealthy foods can harm your metabolism, hormones, and gut health, all of which are a great influence on the rest of your body's processes.
What is Considered a Healthy Diet?
Dieting is different from your diet. A lot of fad diets can be unhealthy for you because they’re not balanced with proteins, healthy fats, some carbohydrates, and foods from all of the food groups.
Your diet should consist of a balanced approach full of “real foods” including vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish and some low-fat dairy products. Avoiding processed foods, sometimes called junk food, or foods that have been preserved for a long time will reduce the chemicals that are in your body.
Monitoring the amount of sugar you eat is important too. Sugar has an impact on your immune system, suppressing it when you take in too much sugar. This can lead to more frequent illness as well as inflammation in your joints.
During COVID we all cooked a lot at home and maybe even tried some new recipes. But with the return of our regular routines, restaurants have come into our daily habits more often. Try to only eat at restaurants on occasion, or choose healthy restaurants with high-quality source ingredients. This is because you may be eating a lot more butter, oil or sugar than you realize in the restaurant food ingredients.
Purchase organic, non-GMO foods as often as you can. Since this doesn’t always fit into the budget, focus on the “Dirty Dozen” when purchasing products and always get these items organic. These are the foods that are treated with the most chemicals. By choosing the organic versions you can reduce some of the pesticides and chemicals in your body.
How Does Diet Connect to Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractors study nutrition as a part of their education. They can use this important information to help guide a patient’s diagnosis and treatment.
Because chiropractors often treat inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, the amount of sugar in your diet, as well as other inflammatory foods, is important for the chiropractor to understand.
Arthritis pain can be increased by inflammatory foods such as:
- Refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pastries, other processed wheat products such as crackers
- Fried foods including french fries
- Sugary drinks including sodas, energy drinks and even juices
- Foods made with high fructose corn syrup
- Red meat and processed meats such as hot dogs and sausages
- Margarine, shortening or lard
It’s been found that certain dietary changes can reduce inflammation and, in turn, influence your pain levels. These include:
- Tomatoes
- Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries and oranges
- Olive oil, used in small amounts
- Green leafy vegetables including spinach and kale
- Nuts that are not heavy on oil and salt
- Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines
If you’re planning to start going to a chiropractor for treatment but haven’t yet taken the time to consider your diet and nutrition, now is a great time to start being more mindful of what you’re putting in your body every day. Dietary changes can be an incredibly powerful way to improve your health. Combining good nutrition and chiropractic care can strongly impact your overall wellness, health, and longevity.
Tips for Improving Your Nutrition
Deciding on what diet works best for you can be a bit overwhelming. Remember that every person has unique needs, and the diet that works best for you may not work best for everyone else. Here are some easy ways to start improving your nutrition:
- Take some time to consider what you eat on a given day. Write down everything you eat in a day, and then look back to consider if you’re getting enough vegetables, fruits, and protein. Also, pay attention to any foods you don’t feel like you tolerate well. This can help you figure out which foods make you feel best.
- If tracking your meals shows you that you need to make some changes, do so. Figure out where your diet is lacking and make adjustments as needed.
- Set attainable goals and enjoy all things in moderation. If you try to cut out major food groups or set harsh restrictions, you may have a hard time getting habits to stick.
If you’re feeling ready to start implementing healthy habits into your day-to-day life, chiropractic care and good nutrition are great places to start. At Village Chiropractic in The Woodlands, we consider the whole you in your treatment plan and can help you make healthier choices. Schedule your visit today.
