Wellness; The Road Less Traveled

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

Excerpt from Robert Frost “The Road Not Taken”

It seems that for way too many people the less traveled path is the one of health and wellness.

Do you know that in the book ‘Fast Food Nation’ the author Eric Schlosser explains that Americans spend a STAGGERING $110 Billion each year on fast food? More than we spend on higher education, personal computers, computer software or even new cars! In fact it is more than the combined amount spent on books, magazines, videos, movies and music! I’m horrified and astounded that the amount is so significant when compared to the other statistics.

It's NOT all our own fault!

This is America! The land of the Free! We can spend our money where and when we choose. We can open a fast food franchise and make our fortune at it. I wish wholeheartedly that we used our freedom of choice to enhance our lives by making better choices for ourselves. HOWEVER, I also wish that so many of the health decisions were not made for us in the laboratories of GMO - Genetically Modified Organism -companies and in the lobbyists' offices on Capitol Hill!

I see the Chiropractic profession in general as being about complete wellness. Especially important as we race towards the start of a new year!

December is arguably the most stressful month for most. As we strive and fight to prepare and give each other the 'Very Best Christmas', some days it feels if making it to the end of the day without a catastrophe is a blessing. We have so many baubles (balls!) in the air our minds seem about ready to explode and cease to function as in the case of my office manager's front desk computer!

Holiday Advice;
Drink more! - water that is. Do you know, even if you come in to the house freezing cold the quickest way to warm up is to have a glass of room temperature water. I always drink filtered/bottled, don't need any more chemicals in my system, thank you!

You know that chiropractors do not prescribe drugs; we do not advocate surgery or any invasive procedure unless it is an emergency or other avenues have been exhausted.

Chiropractors, by removing blockages in the nervous system, enable the body to heal it ‘self. Quite the radical idea when you think that most other forms of what we view as ‘conventional’ medicine require the body to be the host for what a GP prescribes to remove the symptom – not treat the problem!
Kiss under the Mistletoe! Oh go on! .... Be nice to someone, or two people, or everyone. Commit gratuitous acts of kindness. Look the metro rider opposite you in the eye and say Happy Holidays as you leave the carriage. Provided you are not socked in the kisser you're going to make someone else happy. There just isn't enough of that in the world.
Let down your hair! I mean it, enjoy yourself, laugh with your kids, spouse, boss, sister, brother and co workers. Spread some good energy everywhere you go. Party till your carrot falls off! Imagine the release of all those endorphins and the way you will feel when they do. That doesn't mean drunken debauchery,  obviously - take a cab if you do!
A Resolution To Be Healthy!!
You know I’ll tell you to have regular adjustments from your chiropractor so your nervous system allows each cell of your body to function as best it can!
Eating; This is the big one these days.
Much of the diet that the modern world consumes is not that on which the human form evolved. Look in the family photograph albums of fifty years ago or the black and white movies on the late night TV at the weekend and what do we see? Everyone was so much thinner then! The typical weight for a woman was 115 to 125lbs and for a man 150 to 165lbs. Not that you saw anyone exercise back then like you do now. Champions of the parkway in their running shoes or on their bikes were non existent. Who’s grandmother used to run or go to the gym but still wore the wasp waisted dresses of the 1950’s?
High fructose corn syrup and the all invasive ‘modern grain’ wheat are huge factors in my opinion. Breakfast, lunch and dinner - even most of our snacks - are produced from the ‘amber waves of grain’. However, that grain and those husks of corn are not the same as those that your grandmother ate. Our foodstuffs have been changed at the very molecular level (Genetically Modified) and because of the speed at which scientific engineers have developed new strains of the grains we have spent centuries eating, I believe we are unable to properly digest the foods in our every day diets.
What do we do about it? I think the best solutions are not going to be the easiest and certainly not the cheapest. We have to do our best. Eat local, organic produce wherever possible. Concentrate on eating smaller portions particularly during this season when there are so many tempting morsels and goodies placed in front of us wherever we go.
Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas and Holiday Season. May each of us be blessed by the magic of health, spirit and love in abundance.

Yours in Health

Dr. J B Whitlow