When most people seek out chiropractic care, they are often looking for relief from back pain. But, did you know that your chiropractic treatment plan can go beyond spinal health?
In addition to specializing in structural health, many chiropractors are well-educated in other areas of alternative and holistic health to provide their patients with comprehensive treatment programs. Some of the most common integrations included in a comprehensive chiropractic treatment plan are exercise and nutrition programs.
Dr. Douglas B. Cook, D.C. offers some insight into weight loss from a chiropractic perspective:
When a patient asks, "how can I lose weight," there are multiple factors to consider. The answer begins with an examination of his or her past efforts, partial successes, and the entire complex of his or her overall health.
Without seeing the patient face-to-face, the most basic recommendation I can offer is,
"If you do nothing else, do the no white diet."
The no-white diet involves eliminating sugar, white flour, pasta, white rice, and most starches including potatoes, corn, and bananas. Each of these items either contains too much sugar, or they are so quickly broken down by the body that they have the same effect as sugar -- also known as a high glycemic index.
High glycemic index foods are a major obstacle if you are trying to lose weight because your body stores sugar in the fat cells, which is exactly opposite of what we want to happen.
When a patient removes these items from their diet, we replace these foods with ones that are rich in lean protein, fibrous vegetables, and lower glycemic index fruits -- which contain less sugar and more fiber. It's a very simple principle that can spark profound weight loss results.
But "simple" isn't always easy. The key to successfully adhering to a no-white diet is to plan ahead. Fast-food restaurants often do not accommodate the restrictions of a no-white diet, so avoiding slip-ups requires a little preparation ahead of time.
Although planning your diet this way may not be easy or natural at first, the extra work is almost always worth it. Once a patient gets in the routine of preparing healthy grab-and-go meals and snacks, eating this way becomes habitual, and the results are wildly satisfying.
However, some patients struggle to lose weight despite following the no-white diet protocol. In this case, it is important to consider other factors that may be inhibiting weight loss.
Checking hormone levels is an essential step in a patient's weight loss journey.
Too much cortisol, a progesterone/estrogen imbalance, or hypothyroidism can all make the goal of losing weight all-but-impossible. Finding a healthcare provider who is willing to thoroughly test these levels and address these issues can provide a foundation for a seemingly-hopeless weight loss situation.
On the note of hormones, another incredibly effective weight loss solution is the HCG diet. A medically-supervised HCG diet protocol can produce incredible results for patients. This program, originally developed by Dr. Simeons, has yielded tens of thousands of clinically-recorded cases that attest to its effectiveness and safety. When performed using legitimate, medical-grade HCG under proper physician supervision, this program can be a life-changing event for patients who struggle to shed unwanted pounds.
For those who are not familiar with the HCG program, HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. HCG is a reproductive hormone that acts as a protection for the baby against food shortages. Just as a mother's body will pull calcium from her bones and essential fatty acids from her brain in order to share with her developing baby, the HCG can and will do the same thing for a non-pregnant patient (male or female). HCG enables the body to mobilize fat directly from a patient's abnormal fat reserves, most often found in "problem areas" such as the waist, buttocks, and thighs.
What each of these weight loss methods have in common is the dependency on the patient to do the right things with his or her diet and lifestyle choices. Although a chiropractic adjustment may not directly correlate to weight loss, the principle across both forms of treatment is the same:
Change can only happen with a consistent commitment to healthier living.
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