Prana Chiropractic's Wellness Corner

It never ceases to amaze me how truly miraculous and amazing that the human body is.  If you ever for a second doubt how special you are, then just think about some of these fun facts that I want to share with you guys in today’s post: - Each day, we take about 23,000 breaths - Most of the 3,000,000 pain receptors in the human body, are found in the skin - In a 30 year period, our ears grow close to ¼ of an inch - Each day, we blink our eyes more than 9,000 times - In a finger-nail sized patch of skin, there is up to 600 sweat glands - The average adult has enough iron inside of their body to make a 1 inch long nail - Each drop of blood contains close to 5,000,000 red blood cells The coolest fact yet, no two of us are the same!  We are each a unique person, which makes us irreplaceable!  Think about this: you had a 1 in 4,000,000,000,000 chance of being created and expressing life!!! I hope these facts were as interesting and fun for you, a...

Let’s face it, sometimes it is hard to get excited about adding more greens to your diet.  Yet, if you know the wellness boosting benefits that many of our green veggie friends provide, you might just find them a little easier to swallow. One such wellness boosting green power food is the leafy vegetable chard.  It’s often brightly colored stalk makes this little stand out in a crowd and hopefully after you learn the importance of adding it to your diet, chard will find its way on to the tip of your fork.  So here is the nutritional breakdown: (per one cup serving) -           35 calories -           4 grams of fiber (wonderful for digestive health) -           3 grams of protein (great for repairing muscles after workouts) Chard is high in wellness promoting antioxidants, which are important in the maintenance of he...

Prebiotics are a certain group of food fiber that promotes that growth of healthy intestinal bacteria.  Similar to probiotics in their benefit, they differ in what they actually are.  Probiotics actually work to introduce healthy bacteria into the digestive system, whereas Prebiotics act as a fertilizer for the healthy bacteria that is already present in the stomach and intestines.   Approximately 75% of the immune system is in the gut mucosa!  ¢   Prebiotic Benefits Include: ¢   Decrease inflammatory conditions and allergies ¢   Helps with Irritable Bowel and other intestinal issues ¢   Improve absorption of Calcium, Magnesium and trace minerals ¢   Helps with Type II Diabetes by decreasing high blood sugar, decreasing high insulin, and improving insulin sensitivity ¢   Decrease LDL cholesterol ¢   Increase healthy intestinal flora ¢   Can help with HTN and Cardiovascular conditions I do not pr...

There aren’t but a handful of nutritional supplements that I recommend to everyone, and a quality probiotic supplement makes the short list.  Probiotics contain active cultures of healthy bacteria that help to repopulate the intestinal flora in our digestive system.  Many of the toxins, poor choices in foods, and overuse of antibiotics have destroyed the healthy bacteria in our digestive system.  Because of the high amount of healthy bacteria needed for the first line of immune system defense are found in the gut mucosa, it is vitally important that we make certain to have the needed bacteria present.  ¢   Health Benefits Include: ¢   Boost to the Immune System ¢   Colonizes the Stomach, Colon, Duodenum, and Ilium ¢   Kills harmful bacteria and Candida (Yeast Fungi) ¢   Decrease Triglycerides and Bad Cholesterol ¢   Increase Vitamin B12 Production ¢   Benefits all Inflammatory Intestinal Conditions ¢   ...

I still remember the first time that I tasted an avocado.  I was a senior in high school and the avocado was a part of a fruit bowl still life prop that my art teacher set up for us to paint.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the fruits and I could not wait to taste this funny looking fruit (yes avocado is a fruit and not a vegetable).   From that day forward, I was hooked, but I had no idea at that time how healthy that avocados are, and why they are a must in a Wellness Based Nutrition Plan.  So let’s talk about 10 health benefits in particular. 1.        Avocados are extremely nutritious : They’re a natural source of Vitamin K, Folate, Vitamin C, Potassium, Vitamin E, Vitamin B5 and Vitamin B6. 2.        They have more Potassium than bananas : Typically the banana is our go-to food for potassium, but believe it or not, avocados contain a higher amount.  Potassium is important in maintaini...

One of the greatest abilities that we have as humans is that of sight.  It certainly enables us to “see” the world in a much more detailed manner, while experiencing life in a much deeper manner.  So here is a brief rundown of how the eye works, as it relates to sight.  First let’s think of the eye as working like a camera.  The initial step is the light from an object passes through our cornea .  Next, this image is adjusted by the lens , which forms an upside-down image of the object on to the retina .  Our retina is located at the very back of the eye.  From the retina, via the nervous system, the image is transferred to the brain for interpretation.  When the brain receives the image from the retina, it turns the image right side up.  What’s incredible is this entire process takes place almost instantaneously!  Messages about the image that we see and process travel from the eye to the brain as a nerve impulse, and as ...

One of the primary services that we provide at our Wellness Center is myofascial mobilization and release techniques.  While there are many muscular dysfunctions that can occur as a result of fascial adhesions or restriction, one area that is of particular interest to me as a Chiropractor, is its potential to affect a person’s posture.  Postural screening and correction is a large part of the treatment plan that I utilize to assist people in correction of musculoskeletal issues, and to help them get on the path to a Wellness Based Lifestyle. The fascia is simply a thin, yet strong, connective tissue that surrounds every muscle in the body.  It also surrounds the organs, vessels, bone, and everything else in the body, yet I am most concerned with that around the muscles.  The techniques that I utilize help to correct issues with it around the muscles, which can also have a positive impact on organ functioning and overall health.  The fascia is also sligh...