You hear a lot about this diet and that diet – some people stick to three square meals a day, and others who look and seem just as healthy recommend five or six smaller meals. Some eating styles insist on mixing proteins, carbohydrates and fats, while others recommend eating these food groups separately. Some people eat a wide variety of foods, and some prefer fewer choices. Some eat meat, while others are vegetarian.

Who is right?

The good news is that there are many right ways to eat. All of these eating styles have their place, and some people can bounce between several eating styles and it works for them. Rather than falling into the trap of thinking there a “best” way to eat, instead take into account that, just as each of us has a different fingerprint, each of us has a slightly different body that processes food somewhat differently.

While you may have unique preferences, let’s look at some of the common sense principles behind making good dietary decisions.

1. Eat clean, natural, whole foods, organic whenever possible.
2. Eat enough but not too much. Stop when you’re 80% full, and wait to see if you are really still hungry – if not, stop eating.
3. Limit or avoid processed foods, especially those with chemical additives and preservatives.
4. Drink lots of water, up to a half ounce for every pound of body weight – for example, if you weigh 128 pounds, drink 64 ounces, or 8 eight-ounce glasses per day. Coffee isn’t water, tea isn’t water, soft drinks aren’t water, juices aren’t water. Even if you drink other stuff, drink enough water.
5. Eat breakfast every day, and pick wholesome foods, but not sugary sweet foods.
6. Don’t eat late at night before bed. Let your body rest while you sleep.
7. Eat fresh, live, water-rich foods, like fruits and vegetables, every day. Eat local produce when you can get it.
8. Limit or avoid the “whites,” like salt, sugar, white flour, or artificial sweeteners.
9. Eat a variety of foods, not too much or too little of anything. Practice moderation.

However you decide to eat, be grateful for your “daily bread” and choose carefully – you are putting fuel into a high-performance machine, and you want to provide the best energy possible!

Being a chiropractor is great – a chiropractor’s job is to help people get well and stay well using an all-natural approach. Chiropractic is safe and gentle, and chiropractors are called upon to be health and wellness advisors for top athletes, national leaders, and millions of happy patients worldwide.

Some chiropractors concentrate on helping patients who are in pain to get relief and feel better. Some are more interested in whole-body wellness, applying chiropractic more to optimize body function than to treat a particular condition. Some work primarily with neuromusculoskeletal (nerve-muscle-bone) problems, while others focus on improving organ function to make the body work better.

Some doctors of chiropractic use chiropractic adjustments exclusively when they take care of people, and others include recommendations on nutrition, exercise, stress reduction and other lifestyle oriented decisions.

Some specialize in sports, some in family wellness care, and some in personal injury, and some doctors have general practices where they see patients of all kinds.

Chiropractors may choose to run their own practices, or work as part of a group. They may choose to work with other types of doctors to create a network of professionals, or they may offer in-house services like massage, personal training, rehabilitation or spinal decompression.

Doctors of chiropractic may select from a spectrum of technical approaches, some based on adjusting the spine by hand, others using adjusting instruments. Some adjustments are gentle and light, others are firm and strong, depending on each patient’s needs. 

Some chiropractors build large multi-doctor clinics, while others practice solo in their hometowns. Some like taking care of seniors, others prefer children, and some like anybody and everybody.

There are as many kinds of chiropractors as there are kinds of people. That’s why so many different types of people enjoy and are successful being chiropractors.

Chiropractic students learn anatomy, physiology, and a similar curriculum to medical students, except that instead of surgery and pharmacology, chiropractic students learn
neurology, chiropractic analysis and adjusting, and natural healing techniques that support chiropractic care.

If you know someone who may be interested in becoming a chiropractor, please ask your chiropractor where he or she went to school, and where they recommend you start your research. There are many chiropractic colleges in the United States, Europe, and around the world, and every year thousands of students are accepted into these programs of study, to graduate four academic years later with a doctorate in chiropractic and a glowing future serving their communities.

If this sounds good to you, look into beginning your chiropractic education, or mention it to someone you think would do well at it. You’ll be helping that individual to make a great career choice, and also all the people he or she will help in the future.

January First is an important date to most people. It’s like a line in the sand — it’s a time many people choose as the beginning or end point of some habit or behavior, like stopping smoking or starting to exercise. It’s a date that conjures up self discipline, goal-setting, decision-making and commitment. Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution?

What would you like to do differently this year, compared to last year?  Would you like to eat better? Take a walk every day? Reduce your intake of coffee and doughnuts? Read more, meditate daily, or start taking vitamins?

Your health is affected by your habits and lifestyle choices. If you take good care of your mind and body, they will last longer, wear better, and give you more years of faithful function. Treat them badly, and they will eventually wear out.

This is one reason smart health care consumers include chiropractic care in their health and wellness routine. Keeping your body working well means that you can use the food you eat, the water you drink, the rest you get and the thoughts you think to have the best health, the most vitality and best attitude possible.

Chiropractic care helps you by improving the communication inside your body so you heal better and your body runs better. It’s all natural, safe and gentle, and millions of patients enjoy the miraculous healing benefits chiropractic is famous for.

If you want to be healthier this year, and you want your family to be healthier too, think about making a New Year’s Resolution to get a chiropractic check-up for yourself and your loved ones – it could start your year right to know that your body is working at peak efficiency, and the best way for you to be sure of that is to visit your chiropractor!