Simple Practical Natural Self Care Tips to Prevent Illness

11/19/19 • 7 min

Do you know that your daily lifestyle can contribute to the development of illnesses? Yea, if you put your work and career as top priority over your health, you may become stressed over time and soon develop “overload burnout.”

More so, poor nutrition and emotional strain and anxiety can affect your health negatively. Your immune system becomes weak, and you become prone to many illnesses/diseases. That’s why at our Elizabeth City, NC Chiropractic Office, we have been teaching natural self care tips to prevent illnesses.

The truth is that you don’t necessarily have to take any over-the-counter medication to prevent illnesses. That comes with lots of side effects that may become as deadly as you grow old. But you can prevent illness effectively using some natural self care measures.

Many people have asked me, “Dr. Jones, how do I take care of myself naturally to prevent illness without any form of toxic medication?” Well, in this article, I have compiled a list of some practical natural self care tips that can help you prevent illnesses. Check them out!

1. Eat healthily

Most fast foods contain a high amount of sugar, trans fat, artificial preservatives, and other unhealthy ingredients. These substances can put you at risk of weight gain, diabetes, hardened arteries, heart problems, and some types of cancer.

Switching to a healthier diet is a great direction to start with. Eat foods like vegetables, fruits, clean meats, sea food, and so on. You can plan meals ahead to avoid unhealthy temptations.

Also, do not skip your breakfast because for many it is the most important meal of the day. More so, it helps you stay away from snacking during the rest of the day. This way, you will keep your stomach upset, which is commonly associated with digestive problems and weight gain at bay.

2. Exercise Regularly

If you follow a sedentary lifestyle or sit in front of a computer for hours, your muscles tend to become stiff and contracted. And this immobility puts you at risk of severe pains and injuries.

Hence, ensure you exercise regularly. Start your day with some light exercises like stretching, sit-up, push-up, brisk walking, jogging, yard work, etc. Then at work, make sure you practice stretching from time to time or take short and brisk walks two to three times a day.

3. Keep Good Hygiene

Always instill the habit of washing your hands regularly because it can be a channel to introduce germs into your body. You may wonder, “how?” Well, it’s simple. The materials we touch during the day can harbor germs that can be introduced into our food while eating with our hands. Hence, wash your hands from time to time to prevent germs and illness.

4. Avoid Sugary Foods and Drink Lots of Water

When you consume an excess of sugar, it can affect your weight and cause conditions like type-2 diabetes and obesity. Hence, try to cut back on soda, sugary desserts, candy, and other sweet foods, which can cause a rise in your level of blood sugar.

Remember, conditions like diabetes can affect your kidneys, heart, eyes, and nerves over time. So ensure you avoid sugary foods.

Also, drink at least 8-10 glasses of water every day, depending on the nature of your physical activity. Water helps to flush out toxins and harmful chemicals from your body.

5. Quit Smoking

Smoking can cause blood clots, which may prevent the free-flow of blood, leading to the development of plaque in your arteries and blood vessels. Hence, ensure you stop taking cigarettes and other tobacco products to prevent illness.

Other practical natural self care tips include healthy sleeping, avoiding unnecessary stress, and getting wellness Chiropractic adjustments.

Remember, you need to pay proper attention to your body if you want to stay healthy and free from illness. So, use the natural self care tips above to keep your body and mind working optimally.

1. Eat healthily

Switching to a healthier diet is a great direction to start with. Eat foods like vegetables, fruits, clean meats, sea food, and so on. You can plan meals ahead to avoid unhealthy temptations.

2. Exercise Regularly

If you follow a sedentary lifestyle or sit in front of a computer for hours, your muscles tend to become stiff and contracted. And this immobility puts you at risk of severe pains and injuries.

3. Keep Good Hygiene

4. Avoid Sugary Foods and Drink Lots of Water

Remember, conditions like diabetes can affect your kidneys, heart, eyes, and nerves over time. So ensure you avoid sugary foods.

Also, drink at least 8-10 glasses of water every day, depending on the nature of your physical activity. Water helps to flush out toxins and harmful chemicals from your body.

5. Quit Smoking

Other practical natural self care tips include healthy sleeping, avoiding unnecessary stress, and getting wellness Chiropractic adjustments.

Remember, you need to pay proper attention to your body if you want to stay healthy and free from illness. So, use the natural self care tips above to keep your body and mind working optimally.

Previous Episode

Techniques to Slow Down and Breathe

Whenever you are stressed or anxious, you tend to increase your risk of depression, insomnia, and so on. Oftentimes the best advice, however, is to slow down and take a deep breath. But unfortunately, many people see it as an old cliché because they do not understand how this process works.

One of my patients once said, “Dr. Jones, I really do not believe that breathing can ward off my anxiety and stress; is there any other more effective way?” My answer has always been, “You need to learn the right techniques to slow down and breathe; it works great to calm you down and make you feel rested.”

Your autonomic nervous system, which controls processes like digestion, heart rate, and breathing, is responsible for turning our internal dials up and down.

When you run into a lion, for example, your heart rate goes off the roof, and you begin to breathe rapidly and shallowly. At this point, your autonomic nervous system steps in to calm you down. But this can be hard if you’re not physically exerting yourself. You are likely to experience symptoms like:

Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Confusion
Nausea
A lump in the throat
Tingling or numbness in the hands and feet

However, the good news is that you can reverse these symptoms by practicing changing your breathing. We teach several techniques to slow down and breathe at our Chiropractic Office at Elizabeth City, NC. Yea, these techniques stimulate the body’s parasympathetic response/ relaxation response, which are characterized by the following physical changes:

Breathing slows
Heart rate slows
Oxygen consumption decreases
Muscles tension decreases
Blood pressure decreases
Calmness in mind

Techniques to Slow Down and Breathe

You need to understand that when you’re anxious, you often breathe into your upper chest instead of breathing into your lower chest. This is the major cause of hyperventilation (shallow upper breathing).

But the following techniques will help you take a deeper, slower breath:

1. Natural Breathing or Abdominal breathing

This breathing technique is what we all should practice all day long, except you’re involved in physical activity. It is the opposite of what we experience during anxious moments. (Your abdomen expands as you breathe instead of your chest). More so, it helps to supply sufficient oxygen to the body and controls the exhalation of carbon dioxide.

How it goes:

Gently inhale enough air through your nose into your lower lungs alone. And then breathe out slowly. Your upper chest should remain still while your stomach will expand.
Continue this gentle breathing technique with a relaxed attitude, and focus on filling only your lower lungs.

2. Deep Diaphragmatic Breathing or Calming Breath

You can use this breathing technique whenever you are feeling anxious or panicky. It slows a rapid heartbeat and promotes physical comfort.

How it goes:

Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your lower lungs and your upper lungs.
Suspend your breath and count to “three.”
Purse your lips and exhale slowly, relaxing the muscles in your jaws, face, stomach, and shoulders.

You can try this technique at least 10 times a day for several weeks. Use it whenever you want to let go of tension, and whenever you begin to feel anxiety or panic building.

3. Calming Counts

This technique is more beneficial than a calming breath. It takes about 90 seconds to complete rather than 30 seconds. This helps you focus on other tasks rather than your worrying thoughts.

How it goes:

Sit comfortably and take a long, deep breath. Then, exhale slowly while saying the word “relax” in your head.
Close your eyes and take 10 natural breaths. Then, exhale with a countdown, starting with “ten.”
While breathing comfortably, imagine any tensions loosening, perhaps in your forehead, jaw, or stomach.
When you count down to “one,” open your eyes and again and repeat.

As you practice these three techniques, always remember that your current thoughts have a huge influence on your breathing. So try replacing your negative thoughts with positive thoughts as you work on your breath during a panic.

Next Episode

Natural Tips to Supercharge Your Immune System

During this holiday, you might be exposed to lots of factors that could trigger illnesses and sicknesses. But you do not have to turn to flu shots or artificial precautions to keep your immune system strong. Yea! Your body already has an inherent ability to regulate and adapt to the physical and chemical changes that we face every day. All you need is to support your immune system with some natural measures- and that’s the essence of Chiropractic.

At our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC, we have guided a lot of our patients to try simple natural methods to supercharge their immune system. I also want to help you stick to the natural and safer way.

Without much ado, check out the natural tips to supercharge your immune system below:

1. Eat a Balanced Diet

Your body needs the right amount of nutrients to combat diseases, common cold, flu, and allergies, which are common during this holiday season. Therefore you need to stick to eating a balanced diet with an adequate amount of protein, carbohydrate, and healthy fats.

Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” You don’t have to rely on over-the-counter drugs to boost your immune system. Just stick to a diet rich in whole foods and fiber; your immune system will thank you for the charge.

2. Exercise

You can supercharge your immune system tremendously by exercising at least thirty minutes a day for five days every week. More so, you’ll enjoy a better night’s sleep and keep cold at bay by exercising regularly during this holiday season.

Remember, you don’t necessarily have to work out outdoors. You can use a nearby gym or do at-home workouts.

3. Get Plenty of Rest

Your body needs some time to rejuvenate after helping you accomplish many tasks, digest your food, and do your daily job. So, don’t make the mistake of stressing yourself or sleeping less. Stress has a chronic effect on the immune system and may increase your vulnerability to illness.

The best way to help your cells repair themselves and regenerate is to get a good amount of sleep- which is why it is recommended to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Some people ask, “Dr. Jason, do I really need to sleep for up to 7 hours?” My response as an experienced chiropractor has always been, “Only if you want to keep your immune system strong.”

More so, getting adequate sleep helps your body produce hormones such as serotonin, melatonin, prolactin, and growth hormones- all of which helps to keep your body functioning properly.

4. Drink Plenty of Water

You need water to help your body perform many necessary functions like providing oxygen to your blood, clearing of toxins out of the body, circulating nutrients and white blood cells to your body tissue, and lots more. That’s why doctors recommend drinking at least eight glasses of water daily.

So, if you’ve not been taking enough water, you can start this holiday to help supercharge the immune system and keep your body hydrated to perform basic functions optimally.

5. Get Plenty of Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps with a lot of functions like preventing cold and allergies and helping your body to repair and regenerate tissues. More so, Vitamin C acts as a natural antioxidant, supporting a healthy immune system.

You can get plenty of vitamin C from oranges, red and green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and red cabbage.

6. Eat Foods Rich in Zinc

Zinc is an essential mineral for restoring and repairing cells, which keeps the immune system in good condition. Some foods like Brussels sprouts, legumes, green beans, berries, corn, and dates contain a fair amount of zinc per serving. Besides, the added fiber helps the digestive system.

Also, zinc helps to block viruses from gaining full access to your cells. So ensure you eat foods rich in zinc this holiday season to supercharge your immune system to combat diseases, cold, and flu, and allergies.

If you really want to enjoy your holidays, ensure you watch what you eat and drink. And don’t forget to exercise and get plenty of rest. Avoid using any medication or traditional treatment measure to boost your immune system to avoid the numerous side effects attached. Also, ensure you keep good hygiene. You can consult your Chiropractor for more tips to supercharge your immune system.