Why Do Chiropractors Provide Nutritional Counseling?

There comes a day in your life when you decide to undergo chiropractic care to get your body in its optimal health condition and prevent any ailment from bothering you. But did you also know that your chiropractor can help you with dietary changes and nutrition?

The answer is yes, chiropractors can help you! Majority of people are unaware of how a chiropractor influences food advice. Unexpectedly, they possess training in nutritional counseling and are respected as authorities on diet. 

They emphasize understanding the fundamentals of nutrition, digestion, macro- and micronutrients, and the interactions between nutrients. Nutrition and chiropractic care go hand in hand, and we are here to give you some insights into why!

Why Does Nutrition Counseling Matters in Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care provides a holistic approach to its patients, and that includes the provision of proper nutrition counseling. Nutritional counseling helps individuals to achieve overall healthy well-being by understanding how the food that they consume affects their body.

Most people get chiropractic care to help them lessen stress, become healthier, and prevent diseases. Proper nutrition and a change in lifestyle are keys to the success of chiropractic care.

Moreover, there are more specific factors on why nutrition counseling is important to chiropractic care:

• Patients are able to learn more about ways to create a healthier lifestyle
• Proper nutritional assessment is done to analyze the unique nutritional needs of patients
• It can help provide knowledge on how food is digested and processed by the body
• Nutrition counselors can help patients have a better understanding of proper food choices and portion control
• It can help maximize the benefits of chiropractic care.
• Achieving proper nutrient intake can help maintain muscle and bone strength

Proper nutrition is necessary to be implemented during chiropractic care. Even a little mishap in nutrition can lessen the positive effects of spinal adjustments.

What Is Nutrition Counseling?

A thorough wellness plan like chiropractic care must include nutrition guidance. It is a therapeutic strategy to support you in leading a healthy lifestyle. A qualified doctor or nutritionist evaluates a patient’s health needs in relation to their food and exercise habits. 

Each person requires different nutritional needs depending on certain factors, such as the following: 

• Age. Different life stages need different nutritional needs, including the level and frequency of physical activity.
• Physical activity. People differ in physical activity depending on their lifestyle. Sedentary people need more improvement in food choices and an increase in physical activity. 
• Height and weight. Daily energy requirements are dependent on a person’s body mass index (BMI), which is calculated from their height and weight.
• Underlying medical conditions. People with underlying medical conditions may need a specific diet to follow (ex. Hypertensive people need Low Fat, Low Cholesterol diet).

Meal plans and lifestyle changes are provided to the patient to help the body get stronger and healthier based on a person’s specific needs.

A registered dietitian or a doctor is eligible to provide patients with nutritional counseling. They are qualified to provide recommendations based on your body requirements and nutrition goals that you may have like weight loss, weight gain, or following a certain diet because of a health condition.

What Are the Benefits of Nutrition Counseling?

Chiropractic adjustment adheres to the principles of holistic medicine, which treats the whole person rather than just the symptoms of an illness. Nutrition, which makes use of food to promote the body’s health and wellness, is a component of holistic medicine. 

Both chiropractic care and dietary counseling can offer the holistic approach more people are looking for when combined with additional practices like massage or craniosacral therapy.

Here are some of the benefits that you can get from nutrition counseling:

Improve Overall Health Condition

The main goal of chiropractic care and nutrition counseling is to guide patients on their way to improving their health conditions. Dietary changes can prevent inflammation and even alleviate symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Through food and adequate exercise, your body can be strong enough to fight off any illnesses that it may encounter.

[Read: 7 Signs You Need Chiropractic Adjustment]

Healthy Eating Habits

Dietary counseling is the fundamental part of nutrition counseling. Your dietitian would be asking you questions about your eating habits, how much food you eat, the types of foods you eat, and more. 

After the analysis of your food consumption patterns, your dietitian will recommend better eating habits and you’ll learn more about the importance of incorporating a wide variety of foods in your meals. You might also learn about different recipes, portion sizes, and the recommended frequency of meals that you may take in a day.

Improve Sleep Quality

Both overeating and malnutrition can disrupt your sleeping patterns. Habits like consuming caffeine and overly spicy foods before sleeping can also lessen the quality of sleep. With nutrition counseling, patients benefit by learning the ideal food patterns to get the highest quality of sleep.

Weight Loss

Nutrition is the major key to shedding some pounds off of your body. Poor food choices and a sedentary lifestyle can never make you lose weight in a healthy way. Through nutritional counseling, you will be informed of the recommended amount of food to consume for a sustainable and healthy weight loss.

Life Longevity

Following the nutrition counseling provided to you can significantly increase your life expectancy. You are giving your body the best gift by changing your overall lifestyle and improving your food choices. By doing this, your body is healthy enough to battle any disease or sickness. 

Improved Mental Health

Your nutrition counselor and chiropractor go hand in hand in giving you the opportunity to get better mental health. Through nutrition counseling and adhering to the recommendations given to you, you will notice a significant improvement in your mood and fewer occurrences of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Increased Energy Levels

Now that you are starting off a new habit of eating nutritious foods and getting enough physical activity, your energy levels will boost in no time! The reason behind this is that you are providing your body with the much-needed nutrients for it to function properly. 

[Related: How Do Chiropractic Adjustments Work?]

Get Preventative Chiropractic Care and Nutrition Counseling Today

Preventative chiropractic care and nutrition counseling are the key to freedom from your health concerns. With Cornerstone Family Chiropractic, you and your entire family can start living your healthiest.

We provide excellent preventative chiropractic care for children, pregnant women, and families living in the greater Prescott, AZ area.