By William S Ferris, DC
In today’s busy world people find it increasingly difficult to obtain the holy grail of a healthy balanced life.
We all know we should be taking care of ourselves but the options are endless and the marketplace confusion heightens.
Appointments pending, deadlines looming and a hand-held device that never stops “notifying” us.
Where do you begin?
Balanced life gurus approach you from all angles with a variety of messaging. So many areas to address we’re told as they hint, bark, persuade and email campaign us into submission. The well-intentioned incessant messaging includes spiritual clairvoyance, mental fitness, emotional fortitude and physical optimums all served up on a silver platter and yet most of us are thinking, “Geez can I just get a good night’s sleep?”
After 13 years as a board certified Doctor of Chiropractic with specialization in functional medicine you can imagine I deal with musculoskeletal pain on a routine and daily basis with “associated complicating factors”.
Let’s start today by focusing on one of the above areas, which is your physical optimum.
With smoke there’s fire. With pain there’s inflammation. Do you want to know one of the major producers of systemic (meaning all over you body- oh joy!) inflammation?
It often starts in your gut.
How can we trust our gut to become our friend again and not some mortal enemy the likes of which resemble a leveling up villain in popular teenage video games.
One of the simplest, fastest, safest ways to accomplish this is to do a four-part remedy that you can start today.
You can easily begin a home care program or seek out a healthcare provider near you that simplifies the complex interactions of gastrointestinal health into four basic parts: removal, replace, re-inoculate and repair.
Step 1: Remove or limit toxins in food and gastric irritants (caffeine, alcohol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
Food allergies, sensitivities or reactions chronic low-grade infections in the gut (e.g., yeast and parasites)
Step 2: Replace stomach acid (or stimulate stomach acid with bitters: lemon wedges in your water or apple cider vinegar). You can also add digestive enzymes to your meals for a more complete digestion process such as amylase, protease and lipase.
Step 3: Re-inoculate and restore beneficial bacteria to reestablish a healthy balance of “friendly” microflora in the gut. Genus, species and strain become important here. Remember if you want to obtain a guard dog but simply order a “dog you hope a rottweiler shows up not a chihuahua. Simply saying “acidophilus” is too generic. Some excellent examples of indigenous human genus/species/strain probiotics are: L. plantarum HEALx9 and L. paracasei 8700:2, Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118.
Step 4: Repair and provide nutrients to heal the gut wall and its lining while supporting the immune functioning of the gut. For example L Glutamine, deglycyrrhizinated licorice and aloe.
All of these ingredients can be pieced together commonly at your local over-the-counter health food stores or you can find a reputable healthcare
provider with experience in the four Rs using physician-grade synergist blends to save you time and money.
You are what you eat? No, that’s no longer true. You are what you assimilate. The above steps will help you assimilate more nutrition from your diet quieting “the fire” (aka inflammation) while taking a big step forward toward your physical optimum. Think of it as “over seeding your lawn” once a year and you’ll be back on track in no time.
Bill Ferris is a Doctor of Chiropractic with specialization in functional medicine. He is the President and Founder of Modern Chiropractic & Pain Relief and New York Weight Loss in Victor. Call 585-398-1201 or visit www.modernchiropractic.com
Modern Chiropractic & Pain Relief and New York Weight Loss • 311 W. Main St., Victor • 585-398-1201 • www.modernchiropractic.com