Chew Your Food

Image by violaine louis from Pixabay

A couple of months ago, Alysson and I were able to attend an 8-hour seminar on digestion. And let me tell you, the end was crappy!!

Attempted humor aside, we learned a ton of crap.

Let me “pass on” some pearls from our time in class.

First, I know some of you are thinking, what in the world does a guy who deals with people’s back pain know or care about digestion? “I mean really, I don’t go to the auto mechanic for advice about investing. I just don’t get the connection between digestion and chiropractic.” If you are in this camp, you are forgiven for the ignorance, but it would be irresponsible of me to leave you there, thinking chiropractic is only about back pain.

Let’s expand our horizons a bit, shall we?

Those who think chiropractic is all about back pain because we work on the spine, could also think that medical doctors are helping people’s mouths because people put pills in their mouths. The mouth, however, is just a portal to the rest of the body. The pill affects some other body system, often far from the mouth, like blood pressure. Or toe pain. The pill accesses the toe pain through the mouth, letting the body figure out where the medicine is needed. Get that? The BODY FIGURES IT OUT. Not me, not you, not some other health care provider, the body does it automatically. Our bodies have a built-in intelligence. It’s innate. We are born with innate intelligence that can coordinate a healing event. And we would do well to remove anything interfering with this innate intelligence. You have a God-given doctor inside of you. It’s your nature.

In a similar vein, chiropractic is accessing this inborn, innate wisdom, by removing interference from the nervous system. And digestion is coordinated through the nervous system. We, as chiropractors, are typically attempting to remove this interference by accessing the nervous system through the spine. The spine is the communication network, the portal to the rest of your body, like the mouth and the pill. We access the rest of the body through the spine. We want the body to communicate with itself more effectively and be able to coordinate a healing event by removing obstacles to healing, like sticky joints. Unfortunately, back pain is a pretty unreliable indicator of where there is interference.

Next time you experience a chiropractic adjustment, either on you or someone else in the office, or on YouTube (I can’t believe how many of you do this!!), just know we are working to remove any interference the body might have to healing itself.

Back to digestion.

Natural healing and removal of interference requires building blocks like protein and fats, vitamins and minerals. The body must marshal resources for healing and the only way to get those resources is through proper digestion. But ingesting nutrients is not enough. Proper absorption of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats is equally important. A clean and clear nervous system, without nutritional building blocks, is not effective in the long term. You must ABSORB nutrients after you ingest them. (This is why we recommend Standard Process nutritional supplements. They are the most highly absorbable products on the market because they are made of real, organic food.) Poor digestion, usually from poor food choices and the inability to harvest the nutrients from them, hinders your chiropractic results, and every other aspect of your health.

“I just don’t seem to hold my adjustments.” I hear this routinely.

With all the love in my heart I say, “Write down everything you eat for a week, and I’ll show you why you don’t hold your adjustments.”

Diet matters.

But proper digestion relies on a decent diet, not perfect, but pretty good. And the cleaner you eat, the less supplementation you need. The poorer the diet…

One simple thing that you can do no matter what your diet is like, is… CHEW YOUR FOOD!

Your body has a better chance of harvesting what little nutrients may exist in a cheeseburger if you CHEW IT thoroughly.

I have, since this seminar, been more mindful of chewing. I can’t believe how often I just wolf down whatever is in front of me. My table manners have more in common with my dog, Jessie, than with Mrs. Swaim. I’m learning to slow down and chew. And when I do, I usually eat less.

So, begin today to chew your food. Your digestion will thank you. Your skeleton will thank you. I will thank you because your adjustments will last longer.

If you want help with your diet, we are here. If you need supplements because your diet is crappy (I just can’t quit using that word), we are here for that too.

Keep it simple folks.  Chew your food.

Cheers,

ks