A Chiropractor’s Top Ten Tips For A Healthier Life

Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life. However, many of us either aren’t sure how to do it, or we know what we should be doing but decide otherwise. From the viewpoint of a chiropractor, our wellbeing is all about what to eat, what not to eat, and getting exercise.

Here are ten quick tips that can help bring about many years of good health.

Replace Soda with Water – Cutting back on soda can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Water is also better than diet soda which contains chemicals that are just as dangerous as all the sugar in regular soda.
Exercise 15 Minutes A Day – Remember that this doesn’t have to be 15 minutes straight. Squeeze in five minutes before work; take a brisk walk during your lunch break; do a few jumping jacks or pushups when you get home. You don’t need special equipment, and just 15 minutes a day can keep you in tip-top cardiovascular shape.
Eat Dark Chocolate – Incorporating a small piece of dark chocolate into your diet each day provides additional antioxidants to help fight off cancers.
Drink Green Tea – Drinking 16 ounces of green tea per day can help support your immune and digestive systems. It also has those cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Skip and Limit Desserts – Look at the calories of the dessert you want and figure out how much work you’d have to do to burn off those calories and not gain weight. A typical piece of cheesecake is about 650 calories, which means working one hour at a good pace on an elliptical machine to burn it off.Start doing the math. If you really want to have dessert but don’t want to exercise, then don’t have it or have a smaller amount and know you’ll need some exercise to burn it off. Make it a rule not to eat more than 100 calories or six teaspoons of sugar in a day. Trade heavier desserts for smaller ones such as the 100 calorie packs you can buy in the grocery store.
Eat More Leafy Green Vegetables – Whenever you can, buy organic. You don’t want your vegetables overloaded with preservatives. Having greens at every single meal is a key factor for good health.
Get the Proper Amount of Sleep – Studies show that women who slept between 5 and 6½ hours per night survived longer than those who slept for more than 8 hours or fewer than 5 hours. Sleeping longer than 8 hours is just as bad as not getting enough sleep. So the sweet spot for sleep is between 5 and 8 hours. It’s also important to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Sleeping longer on the weekends to “catch up” will throw off your whole sleep pattern and potentially create health issues.
Move During the Work Day – You can prevent a build-up of arthritis (and extra trips to the chiropractor) by getting up, stretching and walking at least once every hour during the work day. It’s helpful even if you only do it for one or two minutes. Movement helps keep your joints lubricated and your circulation flowing. Someone who sits all day and then goes home and does something strenuous like mowing the lawn is more prone to injury that someone who moves throughout the day.
Drink Red Wine – Along with helping you de-stress, a glass of red wine provides antioxidants that help prevent heart attack and stroke.
Everything in Moderation – This “oldie but goodie” is still as true as ever. If you’re having something that’s not really good for you, just have a little so it doesn’t build up in your body. Five cups of coffee a day or 18 hot dogs a week will not benefit your health in any way.

Look at the list again. None of these things are difficult, and some of them you might actually enjoy. As you incorporate these healthy actions into your lifestyle, you’ll reach a point where skipping them is not an option. This means you are fully on the road to a healthier and longer life.

Counseling patients on the value of diet and exercise is a specialty of Virginia Beach chiropractor Dr. James Maggio. Make an appointment today and learn how easy it is to become a better you.

A Chiropractor’s Top Ten Tips For A Healthier Life