The Three Ps

Chiropractic Care and the Road to Good Health

We need to make sure we have every advantage so as to do well in our increasingly stressful world. Good health is a key factor that impacts all aspects of our daily affairs. Therefore, taking steps to ensure optimal wellness provides a payoff in multiple arenas. These steps include making sure we’re eating nutritious foods. Importantly, these steps also include getting regular chiropractic care. Nutritious foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, organic grains, healthy sources of protein, and plenty of water, provide the building blocks for active cells, tissues, and organs. Regular chiropractic care helps ensure that these valuable resources get used properly. When information is flowing freely between the nerve system and the digestive system, thanks to regular chiropractic care, you’re able to put that good food you're eating to work.

Pasta, pizza, and peanut butter. We've all been there. For some of us, these three delicious, yet nutritionally limited, pantry items constituted our three main food groups for months, if not years of our 20s and 30s, possibly even our 40s. But there comes a time when the party's over and we need to deal with reality in the form of tight clothes that used to fit nicely, expanding waistlines, and other unwanted signs of overweight and general lack of fitness.

The fact is that each of the three Ps is high in nutritive value when they are composed of organic ingredients. Pasta that is not organic probably is manufactured from processed flour and has lost most of its original nutritional quality. The same is true for pizza and peanut butter. Organic pizza actually covers three food groups - grains, fruits and vegetables, and dairy. Organic peanut butter is high in protein and essential fatty acids. So the three Ps are good for you. The problem, of course, is when they represent the majority of your weekly food intake.

What is a "well-rounded, healthful food plan", actually? The basic answer is provided by the well-known food pyramid. The   federal government (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) has recently replaced the traditional food pyramid with MyPlate, which is simplistic and not necessary an improvement.  The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has designed a Healthy Eating Plate graphic which is more detailed and provides better guidance. The general rules are to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, fill one-quarter of your plate with whole grains, and fill one-quarter of your plate with a protein source such as fish, chicken, beans, and/or nuts. The Healthy Eating Plate reminds people to drink plenty of water and to use healthy oils. The graphic contains information on choosing whole grains and how to select healthy fruits and vegetables.

Overall, this tool is an excellent resource and may be used in combination with the Healthy Eating Pyramid, created by the Department of Nutrition at HSPH. When a family takes the action steps recommended by these tools and applies the "five to stay alive" rule (the recommendation to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables each day),¹ both adults and children will be well on their way to improved health and wellness.²

Eating a well-rounded diet takes some effort. That's a main reason why so many adults default to the three Ps. Pasta, pizza, and peanut butter are not only fun to eat, they are also easy to prepare. But over time, relying on the three Ps for your nutritional needs will lead to problems.³ In contrast, the guidelines recommended by the Healthy Eating Plate, in association with "five to stay alive" principle, will provide a delicious, nutritionally sound food plan. We greatly assist our long-term health and that of our children when we begin to recognize the value of these guidelines, and are willing to spend a little extra time and effort at the market and in the kitchen to put the recommendations into action.

¹Liu RH: Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr 134(Suppl 12):3479S-3485S, 2004

²Wang YC, et al: Reaching the health people goals for reducing childhood obesity: closing the energy gap. Am J Prev Med 42(5):437-444, 2012
³Drewnowski A, et al: Sweetness and food preference. J Nutr 142(6):1142S-1148S, 2012

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‎10 Reasons Why You Should Drink Warm Lemon Water in the Morning

Instead of getting a cup of coffee, why not replace it with a warm water lemon drink!? Below are the good factors to consider.

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds. They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressure.

2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon has citric acid but it does not create acidity in the body once metabolized.

3. Helps with weight loss: Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet lose weight faster.

4. Aids digestion: Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation.

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin: The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.

7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis. The citric acid can erode tooth enamel, so you should monitor this.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs. It’s thought to be helpful to people with asthma and allergies too.

9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body to stress. As mentioned previously, lemons are chock full of vitamin C.

10. Helps kick the coffee habit: After taking a glass of warm lemon water, most people suggests of less craving for coffee in the morning.

Why it has to be warm water not cold? Cold water likely provides a shock or stress factor to the body. It takes energy for your body to process cold water.

The recipe is really simple - a cup of warm water (not hot) and the juice from half of a lemon.

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