Feeling Healthier in Ft. Worth

Do you want to improve your health? Here are four ways you can start right now -- simply by making healthier nutritional choices.

1. Get your nutrients from foods if possible. Multivitamins and other supplements have their place if you simply cannot get your nutrients any other way. However, most of us can and should get our vitamins and minerals by eating real, high-quality foods. Go for brightly-colored vegetables and fruits for their generous supplies of vitamins and antioxidants. Dark green leafy lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard, bok choy, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and all unmentioned green vegetables are excellent vegetable choices. Some examples of high antioxidant fruits are wild blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.  Milk, cheese and soy are rich sources of calcium which should be part of your diet as well.  When eating dairy, make sure the products are hormone-free.

2. Trade unhealthy carbs for healthy ones. Processed or starchy carbohydrate sources such as white rice or bread, snack chips, pasta and so forth will make your insulin levels spike, loading your body with more sugars than it can realistically handle. Instead, choose less processed grains such as brown rice, multi-grain or sprouted grain breads, whole-wheat pasta or steel-cut oatmeal for carbs that burn more slowly and actually provide you with much-needed dietary fiber.

3. Avoid Processed Sugar. For the same reason it is best to focus on healthy carbs, it is best to avoid processed sugars. Eating sugary foods, most sweeteners, fruit juices, grains, cookies, pastries, cakes, pasta, and starchy vegetables like potatoes all lead to a release of sugar into your bloodstream. Insulin works by stimulating your cells to sponge up this excess sugar out of your bloodstream. Once inside your cells, sugar is used for energy, with any excess amount being converted to fat tissue. If you regularly eat sugary foods and too many processed carbohydrates, your body will have released so much insulin that it will begin to lose its sensitivity to insulin, which means that your cells won't receive as strong a signal to sponge up excess sugar out of your blood. This will lead to excess sugar floating around your blood vessels and all the health problems that come with this scenario.

4. Reconsider your proteins. Protein does not always have to mean meat, so try mixing your menu up with other, lower-fat protein sources such as beans, soy milk, tofu and nuts, all of which provide plenty of protein and minerals. When you do eat meat, selecting organic or free-range products will help you expose yourself to fewer hormonal or antibacterial additives.

Nutrition Counseling from Your Chiropractor

If you find yourself confused by the sheer wealth of nutritional advice, warnings and general information out there, help awaits at Back to Health Family Chiropractic. Our Ft. Worth chiropractor, Dr. Michlin, offers not only chiropractic adjustments but also professional nutritional counseling. We can evaluate your body's current state and determine which nutritional adjustments can help you experience optimal healing, health and wellness. Proper nutrition, paired with chiropractic adjustments and other therapies as needed, can help relieve such debilitating symptoms such as back pain, headache, migraine, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure and more. Let us show you how to eat your way to better health!

Do you have specific questions about diet and nutrition? Ask them here!