Do Chiropractors Help with Nutrition Advice?

Many people believe that visits to a chiropractor are only necessary when you are suffering from back pain and/or injury. While these are by far the most common reasons for chiropractic appointments to be booked, chiropractic care actually encompasses a much wider approach to overall health and wellbeing. At Beyer Functional Wellness, we believe in a functional medicine approach that goes far beyond simple spinal manipulation of the spine. What you eat plays a huge role in your overall wellness, and for this reason, our functional medicine approach also focuses heavily on nutrition.

What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. It is a comprehensive approach that emphasizes not only restoring health, but also preventing disease from occurring in the first place.

The underlying premise of functional medicine is understanding that every person’s biology is unique and therefore, the approach to treatment should be as unique and individual as the person being treated. Rather than simply looking to resolve the symptoms the patient is experiencing, the treatment will focus on the individual and how, by making alterations to various aspects of their lifestyle, they could live much healthier and disease-free lives.

Our functional medicine approach enables us to work with our patients to develop the most appropriate and achievable treatment plan that will correct, balance and optimize the patient’s body in order to counteract the underlying issues.

How does nutrition fit into functional medicine?

Our bodies need energy to be able to perform all of the normal day-to-day functions that keep us alive, as well as to enable us to be active. This energy comes from the food and drink that we consume in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. However, getting the balance of these is essential for our health.

Some foods yield more energy than others. In theory, you might think that those foods that contain high levels of energy are best to eat. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. It’s very easy to consume more energy than we need, and this can lead to surplus stores that are converted into fat. Over time, this can cause us to gain weight.

Unfortunately, people who are overweight/obese are much more likely to suffer from health problems, many of which affect the musculoskeletal system. The more that you weigh, the greater the amount of stress that’s placed onto the joints of the body, including the hips and knees. Increased stress on these joints can accelerate degeneration and lead to osteoarthritis, causing pain, stiffness and mobility issues.

What we eat can also impact on our ability to heal following an illness or injury. Foods that are considered to be pro-inflammatory have been shown to increase the body’s natural response to injury, resulting in increased pain and swelling. They also slow down cellular activity, reducing the speed at which your body will heal itself.

Your chiropractor will be able to assess your current diet and make recommendations for changes that will increase its nutritional benefit. This may mean reducing or limiting certain foods or adding others to your existing diet. In some cases, our chiropractic team will identify deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals that are hard to alter through diet alone. In these instances, and depending on your personal circumstances, supplements may be recommended. For example, people who are experiencing issues with their joints may be recommended to take glucosamine supplements which are proven to support joint health.

If you would like to find out more about how chiropractors help with nutrition advice, or if you’d like more information about functional medicine, please call Beyer Functional Wellness at (708) 478-0690 to reach our office in Mokena, IL.