‘The simple act of asking questions begins the process of becoming a wise consumer, rather than blindly eating your way to sickness.’

Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani, Author of Well Adjusted Babies

The word ‘diet’ should not translate as a short period of time where you change your eating habits. Ideally, a ‘diet’ is a lifestyle choice, being in it for the long haul.

This doesn’t mean that you have to eat like a model of perfection all the time. Choosing the way you eat as a lifestyle choice really just means being aware of what you are eating, where your food is coming from, and what kind of effects your eating habits will have on your body/ moods, and your general health and wellbeing.

Proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fibre are the main constituents of all food. Your food is also where most of your trace minerals and vitamins come from.

The idea of eating healthy is to go with the 80/20 rule- eat healthy, high quality foods 80% of the time, and indulge in less-than-ideal foods 20% of the time. Over the years different versions of what healthy eating means, and different media hype over certain foods and diets, has made this topic a little confusing.

Here at Chiro Connect in Wanaka, we utilise Applied Kinesiology (AK) test vials* which may help to identify certain food intolerances or chemical imbalances. Symptoms to look for indicating your body might not be working effectively could include: difficulty in losing weight, period pain, tiredness, poor digestion/ bloating, skin disorders or skin puffiness, chronic headaches, mental fatigue or difficulty in thinking clearly.

The symptoms listed above could also be the result of your body mechanics and nervous system struggling to work efficiently- see our page on Chiropractic for why we combine an extensive health history questionnaire and a thorough physical assessment on your first visit at Chiro Connect.

Eating healthier options may take a little extra effort, but the long term health benefits that come from this are definitely worth it.

To start you on your way to healthy eating, here is a fabulous short information video about the history of the food pyramid, as well as the my portion plate models of nutritional recommendations. This video was made by Australian Chiropractor and Naturopath, Dr Damian Kristoff.

*The AK testing kits are not intended for diagnosis of any medical conditions, nor do we claim that testing with test vials can be used to cure any medical symptom or condition. What they may help with, is identifying different areas in your life that could potentially be contributing to a less than optimal state of health.