A healthy diet means a healthy back !

A healthy balanced diet is the cornerstone of good bodily health. So often in modern- day life we exist on processed food in the form of bread, cereals and sugar rich snacks. This has a marked negative effect on our musculo-skeletal health due to the imbalance it creates in both blood sugar and hormonal levels. Each vertebral level of the spinal cord gives primary nerve supply to a particular organ system, many of which are digestive organs, such as the pancreas. When the demand placed upon a particular organ exceeds its capacity to respond, sickness ensues. This is one of the reasons why chiropractors carry out spinal manipulations, so as to influence the central nervous system at the spinal cord.

Much emphasis is placed on calorie counting only; with a view to weight loss. This approach, however, is flawed in that the aforementioned items cause chemical changes in the body which lead to the energy in processed foods being laid down as fat. The body’s response to sugar and grain is to release insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas, whose job it is to create fat stores when it perceives there being a time of plenty.

Vegetables, pulses, beans and protein all avoid this response and allow the calories they contain to be utilized immediately thus avoiding deposition of fat stores. They also contain most of the essential nutrients we require for the body’s biochemistry to function normally. Furthermore, correct hormonal and acid/alkali balance are facilitated in this way. In addition we require essential fatty acids which come in the form of omega 3 (fish oil) and omega 6 and 9 (cold pressed oils such as hemp oil, evening primrose etc.) Even regular oily fish eaters will not get omega 3 fats sufficient for their needs and should supplement with fish oil bought from a health food shop. We recommend ‘Eskimo 3’ by Nutri.

Many books have been written on the Glyceamic Index Diet (G-I Diet) which advocates eating only foods that convert to glucose slowly. This avoids peaks and troughs of blood sugar and thereby helps promote better energy levels and more balanced moods as well as avoiding the increased acidity that sugar creates.

An imbalance of blood sugar is a primary cause of pelvic, sacro-iliac joint instability. SOT chiropractic is developed around the principal of ensuring good sacro-iliac joint stability and good cranial function. If you have that, it’s hard to be sick.

Topic: Diet and nutrition