In our previous article, Holding Health is Healing Health, we discussed several benefits to holding your chiropractic correction. There are 3 key lifestyle elements of health you should pay close attention to through out your day. Focusing on optimizing these areas in you life will maximize the holding time of your health  and allow your body to thrive in the best possible environment- for as long as possible. Once a change is made to the alignment of your spine, these areas of your lifestyle will begin to affect the quality of your care. For this reason we will look at the potential Thoughts, Traumas, and Toxins, known as the “Three T’s” in your lifestyle that could be affecting your health.

 Toxins:

 You have probably heard the saying that “you are what you eat.” While this may be true, I am more of the belief that “you are what your body can do with what you eat.” You can have the best diet and take the most expensive health supplements in the world, but if the nerve system is compromised, your body will not be able to utilize the it all at 100%.  Your nerve system relays all the information of what you just put into your body to the brainstem and brain.  If the body ingests a substance that it cannot handle or is bad, it will respond through a health expression such as fever, diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, and sweating.  It is important to realize that these actions are normal for the body to perform and should not be stopped. Instead of trying to stop a normal process within the body, one should look at possible sources of contamination or sensitivities and remove them from the lifestyle.

 Ask yourself: “Is this good for me?”

I believe that you do not necessarily need to focus on the removal of bad things from your lifestyle. Doing so still does not fix the problem that there aren’t enough good choices being made. Instead, what I recommend is if you maximize the things that are good for you, there will be no time or room for you to engage in what is bad for you. In other words, we want you to focus on what is good for you!  Here are some ways to help alter your environment, optimize the good, and take away the bad lifestyle choices.

• Eat three times the weight in fruits and vegetables as you do grains and meats.

• Focus on Non-GMO and organic foods as much as possible.

• Consume sprouted, raw, or fermented foods and minimize processed foods.

• Shop on the outside of the grocery store and avoid boxed or preserved and fortified grains, cereals, and mixes.

• Heat foods in a pan rather than the microwave. Surprisingly it does not take much more time to heat foods on the stove top.

• Switch to cast iron. Throw away the teflon and non-stick pans that are hormone inhibitors.

• Aluminum has been found to be a major contributor to several health conditions including Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, and breast cancer. Trash the antiperspirant, canned foods, aluminum foil, and cookware.

• Reduce pharmaceutical (man-made) drug intake and choose natural means instead. Although certain recreational drugs may be considered “natural,” habitual use and addiction can take over causing several health issues. As always consult with your medical doctor to determine if this is safe for you.

• Tobacco and Alcohol stress the body during consumption and elimination in the liver, stomach, kidneys, and lungs. Even though small amounts of alcohol have been found to be beneficial for health, self-control becomes an eminent factor in the separation between a small amount and a large amount.

• Remember that just 1 alcoholic drink will alter thyroid function for an entire week!

• Sugar is not always bad but should be consumed very, moderately. Focus on eating natural sources such as dried fruits, dates, honey and maple syrup.

• Most sunglasses and sun protection block UV rays that are actually healthy for the eyes and skin. Instead, avoid direct sun exposure for long periods of time and apply a natural SPF protectant such as coconut oil and shea butter.

• Keep the electronics away from your body as much as possible. Electromagnetic waves have shown the diminished growth of plants in close proximity and an alteration of sleep states.

• Detoxify your body using several natural methods of cleansing including supplements, fasting, food elimination, and dieting.

The body is meant to tolerate a certain level of environmental exposures and for the sake of maintaining sanity one should not try too much too soon. Start with one change per week and after an entire year you will have made 52 small changes that will change the entire course of your life and health.  A simple change of one degree in any direction will have a huge impact in the long run for both you and your family. It will not be easy, so encouragement from your doctor, family, and likeminded friends is highly recommended to maintain balance between all three areas of mental, spiritual, and physical health.

“Your body is your temple and the only thing that will last a lifetime. Your soul is eternal and the only one that will outlast your temple. ”

This article completes our mini-series in the Three T’s of Holding Health. As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to contact us via email or posting in the comments section made available below. 

References:

1. Hall, J. E., & Guyton, A. C. (2011). Guyton and Hall textbook of medical physiology. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier.
2. Rutgers Endocrine Research Program, Department of Animal Sciences, Rutgers University, 67 Poultry Farm Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
3. Ursache, M. A. N. U. E. L. A., et al. “The effects of high frequency electromagnetic waves on the vegetal organisms.” Rom J Physiol 54.1 (2009): 133-45.
4. Krause, Marianna, et al. “Sunscreens: are they beneficial for health? An overview of endocrine disrupting properties of UV‐filters.” International journal of andrology 35.3 (2012): 424-436.
5. Sharieff, Waseem, Joyce Dofonsou, and Stanley Zlotkin. “Is cooking food in iron pots an appropriate solution for the control of anaemia in developing countries? A randomised clinical trial in Benin.” Public health nutrition 11.09 (2008): 971-977.