When asked to choose between good health and great wealth, most individuals would pick good health. However when asked to define “health,” many would have trouble putting into words what this concept means to us. For some of us health might mean lack of illness, disease and pain. Sometimes to some health means being symptom free. For other individuals good health might mean a greater positive state of being, including strong bones and teeth, great body and eyes, strong muscles, appropriate weight, and much more.

We all want want great health. This is very important. Unfortunately, this goal at times is very difficult to reach with a health care system focused primarily on treatment of disease as opposed to prevention of illness. Focusing on symptoms is not the key to health. Though we have extensive research about the illness of the body and therapy of signs and symptoms, we should be focusing on prevention.

For heart patients, heart bypasses and angioplasty do not address the underlying cause of the heart problem. Surgery merely treats the existing problem, which sometimes returns if the patient doesn’t also make a lifestyle change. When patients make comprehensive life changes consistent with a healthy heart, the patient has a good chance of improving. This reality is being proven through research.

Many times a patient is hospitalized with an end-stage illness that has taken years to develop. During previous years the person has eaten donuts, salami, french fries and ice cream every day. The patient may ask, “What’s wrong with me, Doc?” The doctor replies, “I don’t know, we’ll have to run more tests.”

The reality is that we can examine the whole person and his or her lifestyle over the years, and the illness will be seen throughout their entire body. Wouldn’t it make more sense to study what causes the body to be healthy as opposed to being sick? Unfortunately, only twenty percent of today’s research is spent on preventative health care and most is spent on illness. Part of the problem might be that it is less lucrative to study prevention than it is to study treatment for illness and disease.

Research examines the factors that help keep the body healthy are becoming increasingly certain of the significance of the mind/body connection as a critical component in health care. This factor is an important reason why many patients are turning to chiropractic health care by chiropractors as part of their health building strategies as opposed to medical care that treats the disease.

Doctors of chiropractic work directly with the mind and body connection for optimum health. The brain contains all the information to run the body correctly and naturally. The entire nervous system is a channel of nerves from the brain to each tissue cell in the body. All functions are controlled by the nervous system. Similarly, the spinal column covers and protects the nervous system from outside damage.

We know that brain functions can be affected unless we keep it safe and free from severe injuries. The same is true for the spinal column and proper nervous system functioning. When the spine is seriously damaged and the spine cord becomes clipped, the body can become paralyzed because the brain can no longer communicate properly with the rest of the body. This principle also applies when damage to the spine is on a lesser scale, resulting in misalignment of spinal bones and pressure on nerve function. Spinal vertebral misalignment results in a partial communication breakdown leading to a partial as opposed to full connection between the mind and body. When this happens, the body loses much of its ability to maintain health and proper functionality.

We know lifestyle factors are important in building health. We know we need proper rest, good nutrition, exercise and a positive mental attitude; we may not fully understand the importance of a fully functioning nervous system. Building health within the body is ultimately the path we all must discover for ourselves. It is not something a doctor can give us. It is something we give ourselves because healing and health are natural states, and we have the power to control our decisions.

B.J. Palmer, developer of chiropractic, said, “In the future, chiropractic will be valued for its preventative qualities as much as for relieving and adjusting the cause of many ailments.” The future is now because chiropractic is no longer alternative but the mainstream choice of millions who have turned to chiropractic for natural health and wellness care. Chiropractic is now covered by many insurance companies.

Doctors of chiropractic are committed to educating their patients about healthy lifestyle and their patients express appreciation for it. We need to be involved with our health by asking questions and beginning our own quest to discover just what “good health” is, and how it can be obtained.

Learn more about chiropractic care. Stop by New Century Spine Centers in San Diego web site where you can find out all about alternative medicine and what it can do for you.

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