March 8, 2006

Little decisions which have a big impact on your health

By Cheryl Davis, DC
Special to the Times

What would you do with a day off? Spend time with the kids, play golf, go for a stroll on the beach or just stay home curled up with a great book? Well, what ever you can envision, your body needs to work properly to carry out any of these activities. How could you enjoy anything with a splitting headache or pain shooting down your arm or leg? How much fun would that book be if you couldn’t focus on the page?

We take for granted that our bodies should work and that our brains will function properly. Without any thought to our bodies, they will go on trying to make it go right for about 30-50 years. Then when the body can’t compensate for the problems it’s had to cope with, you will begin to think, “Boy, this growing old thing is the pits.”

Actually the human body is designed to last 120-130 years. So why do people die so young? Why is the body starting to fall apart after 40?

What is health? The definition in Dorlands Medical Dictionary is “a state of optimal physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”

This is quite a different view for most of us. It means that, all those little things that go wrong, like acid reflux, asthma, PMS and other symptoms, are signs that your body is not functioning right. Those are not a part of being healthy, because those aren’t mentioned in the definition.

When the indicator light in your car goes off, what do you do? You can find out what the problem is and fix it, or you could just ignore the light until the car stops functioning. You could even spray paint over the light so you don’t see it.

Well, you have the same options with your body. When you have a symptom or the warning light goes off in your body, you can just ignore the problem till it stops you from going to work or you can’t get out of bed. Or you could “spray paint” over the problem by just taking some pill. The best thing is of course, to find out the cause of the problem by visiting your local chiropractor.

Chiropractic has been about wellness since its conception over 100 years ago. Many people currently think of a Doctor of Chiropractic as a back and neck specialist, but actually that isn’t what we’re about. We’re about the nervous system and how well that is working inside of you.

The nervous system is the communication system of the body. Every cell, tissue and organ is hooked up to the nervous system. This is how the body is able to keep everything running properly and repair its self and grow normally. The brain is the commander of the body, but every part of the body must report in and be able to receive proper input. When this doesn’t happen, malfunctions occur. When these continue unchecked then the disease turns into a disease process.

So a Doctor of Chiropractic is interested in keeping your body functioning at 100 percent. This is what wellness care is all about, you functioning at your best, so that you can do everything you want. So, if you haven’t already, get your spine checked.

I urge you to go one step further and not have the indicator light go off. Health is not just something that you have. It is not just something wished for on a greeting card. Health is the sum of all your little decisions throughout life. Little decisions like what to eat and whether to exercise, when to sleep or whether to smoke.

Taking care of your body will help to ensure a healthy longer life.

One of the easiest things to do is drink more water. Our bodies are mostly water, and continuous water intake is essential to our every function. For every 50 pounds of body weight you should drink 1 quart of bottled spring or filtered water. By drinking the appropriate amounts, everything is much more likely to function at optimal levels. Don’t drink enough water, and over the short term you will experience routine fatigue, dry skin, headaches and constipation; over the longer term, every body function will degrade more quickly. It really is as simple as that.
Start today with one little decision that will help you to live healthier. Remember, what you fuel your body with is what your body will use to grow, repair and maintain it.

Dr. Cheryl Davis is the owner of Hands on Healing 3425 S. Bascom Ave., Suite B, Campbell, CA (408) 371-0068.