5 Essential Vitamins To Complement Chiropractic Care
Maximizing the Benefits of Chiropractic Care
We believe that nutrition plays a vital role for a complete lifetime of health and wellness, which also incorporates chiropractic care, fitness and the food choices you make for you and your family. Chiropractic care is primarily focused on two major body systems – the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system (brain, spinal cord and nerve endings). As with all systems in your body, there are certain nutrients which will safeguard these systems and help boost their overall strength.
Here are some of the dietary nutrients which most directly impact the health of your bones and your nervous system.
Potassium
Potassium is an important regulator of your nerve impulses. The sending of electrochemical signals, known as an action potential, makes use of potassium and sodium to elicit responses from cells in the nervous system.
Potassium is important in turning off nerve impulses, thereby preventing the uncontrolled signaling of nerves, as uncontrolled signaling can lead to conditions such as epilepsy.
Calcium
Calcium is an all-around necessity for your body, one which is vital to the health of both your nervous and skeletal systems.
Much like potassium, calcium plays a role in the regulation of action potentials throughout your body. Calcium helps in the initiation of an action potential, and then also helps your cells return to a normal state afterward. Calcium is also important to the overall development of the nervous system, working to help guide the migration of nerve cells as the system grows.
Calcium is a major element of your bones, and a healthy supply of calcium helps form your bones’ structure and facilitate their growth. Since this mineral is important to numerous systems in your body including your muscular system (and by extension, your heart), your body will take calcium from your bones if you are not getting enough of it for use it elsewhere in your body. This will lead to considerable problems for your bones down the road as calcium deficiency takes its toll.
Vitamin D
One of the most important nutrients for proper bone health, Vitamin D helps promote bone development and growth, as well as calcium absorption to help strengthen your bones.
Vitamin D helps your body process and absorb the calcium you ingest, so having enough of it in your diet will greatly increase the effectiveness of your daily calcium intake.
Vitamin B12
A member of the group of vitamins known as the B Complex, B12 is essential to the function of your nervous system and your body’s metabolism. B12 works to break complex carbohydrates into the more simplistic glucose which your brain uses for basic functions. B12 also helps maintain a healthy amount of the nerve insulator myelin which is used for nerve transmission.
Many people rely on Vitamin B12 shots for supplementation to combat deficiencies. B12 shots deliver the nutrient directly to the bloodstream; the absorption process necessary for oral pills is bypassed. And treating deficiencies is a very important task; a shortage of Vitamin B12 has been linked to the loss of myelin, and by extension can lead to serious conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease.
Vitamin K
Much like Vitamin D, Vitamin K helps to balance and facilitate the absorption of calcium. Studies have also suggested that Vitamin K can be of special value to people suffering from osteoporosis, as it can help prevent fractures by strengthening bones and increasing bone density.
Just What the Chiropractor Ordered!
Vitamin K, as well as all of the other nutrients mentioned above, can be found in plenty of regular dietary sources from bananas (potassium) to dairy (calcium and Vitamin B12) to leafy green vegetables (Vitamin K).
Additionally, supplements are also available for those suffering from more specific deficiencies. Talk to your chiropractor about the best nutrients to complement your chiropractic treatments.
About the Author
Very informative. I see many women suffering from osteoporosis – a proper diet could certainly reduce the risk.
It’s great that you elaborated on how Vitamin D can improve our bone development and growth. I’ve noticed that it’s been harder for me to walk around properly as I age and I feel like taking additional vitamins would help. It might be a good idea to consult a pharmacist and see what brand would they recommend.