Highlands Ranch Chiropractic Fall-Cleaning

When we think of this time of year in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, we usually think of all the beautiful autumn colors outside and the nice cool air in beautiful Highlands Ranch. After all, this is why most of live here in anyways. I know I moved to Highlands Ranch 6 years ago because I love enjoying all 4 seasons that Colorado has to offer, and Fall is definitely my favorite. Unfortunately, this time of year can also mean cold and flu season. Highlands Ranch and other parts of Colorado have been hit pretty hard with the flu bug this year. So below are a few tips I put together to keep your immune system strong and fight off any cold and flu bugs you might encounter this Fall.

Start Juicing
Juicing vegetables is one of the best ways to fortify your body with nutrients and vitamins to give you an energetic life and optimal health. It also happens to be an excellent way to detox and cleans your intestinal tract. The health of your body is largely dependent on your intestinal tract, but most Americans have compromised intestines - LEAKY GUT. Why? Because most of us have been eating less than optimally for many years, and it's starting to catch up with us. Juicing helps to "predigest" the vegetables so you can get the most nutrition from them, and adding green juice to your diet will give you plenty of chlorophyll, which is known to help detoxify, heal the intestines, and purify the blood.

EAT MORE RAW FOOD
Raw food, including vegetable juice, is generally much easier to digest than cooked food. In fact, raw food is digested in half the time as cooked food.

So while you are cleaning out your body this spring, eating a lot of raw food will give your digestive system a much needed break, allowing it to clear out waste that has built up over time. When I say raw foods, I mostly mean fruits and veggies. Think of all the different types of salads you can make on a weekly basis to help incorporate more raw foods in your diet. Other raw foods that can be very beneficial to your health are nuts, seeds, and even raw (organic) eggs that you can add to your smoothies.

Water, Water, Water
One of the best things you can do while cleansing your body is to drink only water. Eliminate all other beverages including:

• Soda
• Fruit juice
• Pasteurized milk
• Sports drinks
• Coffee

Make sure that your water is clean, however. I recommend avoiding distilled water and also fluoridated water and instead using a good filter for your water supply. Reverse Osmosis filtered water is purest water I know of.

Fermentation
Fermented foods are a great source of good bacteria, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. The fermentation process even increases the amounts of some vitamins and enzymes in the food. The good bacteria in fermented foods make the food more digestible and balance your gut micro-flora, which will help your body heal from a variety of ailments. Incorporating good bacteria will also help in your weight loss goals.

Hope this helps get your spring/summer season off to a good start. Always remember to get atleast 20 minutes of sunshine everyday as well to help boost your vitamin D levels. Getting regular chiropractic adjustments will always help you fell your best as well. If you have other questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call us. We are not only a Chiropractic clinic here in Highlands Ranch, we also care and treat your whole body – from the inside out.

By Nick Caras D.C.