~~DR PETTERSON'S TIPS FOR HEALTH
NUTRITION: Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, these are filled with immune boosting and cancer preventing vitamins. Try to have a fruit or vegetable with every meal. Eat lots of greens, salads, green beans, broccoli. Incorporate lots of colors, red peppers, carrots; the more colors the more vitamins. Eat 4 to 5 small meals instead of 3 big meals. The body will utilize the food better this way and be less likely to store it as fat. This can also help to maintain the blood sugars, which can help prevent diabetes. You can still eat 3 regular meals, just eat a little less and perhaps have a snack in the afternoon. A good snack can be an apple and a few nuts, or perhaps a protein shake and a carrot. Do your best to eat lower glycemic index carbohydrates. This means carbohydrates that release less blood sugar in the body; they digest slower. This can help prevent diabetes and even can lower cholesterol. Some examples of low glycemic index carbohydrates are oatmeal, brown rice, beans of all types, and yams. White breads and pastas can release more blood sugars in the body. This can sometimes lead to higher resting blood sugar levels and ultimately diabetes, and other chronic health conditions. Eat more chicken, fish and meats with no hormones or antibiotics. Organic food can be more expensive, but is often healthier. Try to cook more with olive oil, and even put a little olive oil on your rice. Olive oil is actually a healthy fat that is good for the body.
VITAMINS: Fifty years ago food had all the vitamins our bodies needed, but today there is much more pollution in the soil and the environment. Because of this, our food no longer has all the vitamins that our body needs. So which vitamins should we take? Everyone should take a multivitamin. Take a little vitamin C and in the winter take a little vitamin D. Our bodies make vitamin D from the sunlight in the summer so we don’t need it then. Take an omega 3 fish oil every day, these are no longer in the food chain and are necessary for our bodies to function properly. Do your best to get good quality vitamins; organic is best. If you are having trouble finding good organic vitamins we have them here at the clinic.
EXERCISE: Exercise is important not only for our physical health but also for our mental health. It can help reduce stress. I sometimes joke and say we do not have to go to the gym 2 hours a day 6 days a week, but even a few 15 minute walks a week can do wonders for the health. I do my best to do a couple walks or bike rides a week and a couple days at the gym.
GET ADJUSTED ON A REGULAR BASIS. Your nerves not only feel pain, but they control the function of every cell, tissue and organ in the body. I recommend that once the spine is corrected that you maintain the spine with lifetime adjustments. Stress, bad posture, sleeping wrong, hard work and even too much sitting are all things that can cause pinched nerves. 70% of people seem to do very well with once a month adjustments to keep the spine in place. 25% need once every 2 - 3 weeks, and 5% need to get adjusted every week or two due to very hard work or very high stress lifestyle. Keep the pressure off your nerves!
Dr. Petterson 651-480-1128, www.pettersonchiropractic.com