Dean Cobb

Chiropractic care and physiotherapy are both natural methods of treatment and are focused on alleviating tension, restoring mobility, function and good health to the body. They do not use medications nor surgery. It is not clear in many people’s mind which therapy is more effective and will give the greater benefit for their long-term health and wellbeing.

A chiropractor is a healthcare professional who provides services in the diagnosis and treatment of neuromusculoskeletal disorders and in their prevention. A physiotherapist is a medical professional engaged in providing treatment and assistance in restoring function and mobility in case of injury or disease caused by aging.

Physiotherapy

The primary concern of physiotherapy is addressing muscular pain and joint pain through the use of rehabilitative exercise, massage and stretching techniques. These may be employed in combination with other treatment methods such as ultrasound, heat therapy or hydrotherapy. The services of a physiotherapist is often called to help patients regain their mobility normally after an injury or accident and to help manage their pain. Physiotherapists are inclined to focus and specialize in problems of the soft tissues. The physiotherapist is likely to focus particularly on the connective tissues and muscles on and around the affected area, in trying to reduce tension and pain.

Chiropractic Treatment

Essential and central to chiropractic care is the philosophy that good health and general wellbeing emanates from a healthy relationship between the spine and nervous system with the bones, joints, organs, muscles and tissues of the body. The focus of chiropractic treatment for an injured or ill patient is the realignment of the spine to remove irritation and to restore normal functioning of the nervous system of the body. This process is known as chiropractic alignment or adjustment. It consists of gentle, directed force manually applied and directed to a joint or vertebra with restricted movement. The action is intended to allow the affected part to regain normal motion gradually.

Chiropractic care focuses on full-body health and the intimate relationship of your spine to the rest of your body as opposed to paying attention only on a single point where the injury or dysfunction is. The chiropractic approach to treating a health condition is holistic. Aside from this broader focus on your body, it makes sure that similar issues are prevented in the future. Lifestyle changes, nutrition, supplementation, strengthening and stretching exercises, posture and ergonomics are incorporated in the treatment plan, as the chiropractor sees them necessary. A reevaluation of some of the aspects of your lifestyle is important because in many cases, poor lifestyle habits cause the health condition to exacerbate and get in the way of a quick recovery.

The chiropractic treatment provided is unique to the health issues and condition of the individual seeking health care. It is highly personalized, which means there are no set standard limits in terms of treatment frequency and duration. One patient may require very few sessions to fully heal while others may need more visits or even undertake ongoing treatment.

While both physiotherapy and chiropractic care are beneficial in providing relief to symptoms associated with pain, injury and illness, people who have had the opportunity to experience or have known these two forms of therapy favor chiropractic care. It has a broader scope in terms of the issues it can help in and it is more holistic and preventive in nature.

Also known as dietary supplements, food supplements are substances meant to be consumed by the human body. They come in various forms, and may contain essential substance such as vitamins, minerals, or amino acids. As the name implies, food supplements contain dietary ingredient that “supplement” or add to the diet that an individual takes in. They are, however, never considered as a meal substitute.

People generally take food supplements for health-related reasons, especially if they cannot consume the entire amount of a natural substance on a regular basis. It is important to remember that food supplements should not be used as a substitute for traditional curative medicines.

While food supplements do not provide a “cure all” advantage, they can, however, contribute to health maintenance and well-being. They contain active ingredients that have been used for thousands of years ago to maintain health and help minimize illnesses of our ancestors. Just like other forms of alternative medicines, they are preventive in nature.

Why People Take Food Supplements?

The two primary functions of food supplements are: (1) to prevent diseases from being acquired by the body, and (2) to supplement or add nutrients to what we eat, both of which lead to promotion of good health and achievement of high quality of life.

People take food supplements for many reasons and to accommodate many health conditions. They take in vitamins and minerals food supplements primarily because they are aware of the health benefits they provide for the body. They, not only provide added nutrition to our diet, but also help in preventing diseases. A good example is how vitamin C keeps us from getting a cold and strengthening our immune system. Vitamin E supplement, on the other hand, helps fight aging and gives natural glow to the skin.

Herbal food supplements, similarly, are being consumed by many people because of the benefits they bring in to the body. Historically, people have used herbal medicines to reduce fever, prevent illnesses, cure infections, and heal wounds. Herbal medicines are also known to ease pain, treat constipation, or act as relaxants or stimulants. These are the primary reasons why a lot of people believe in the effect and benefits of herbal food supplement.

In spite of these, however, there are still some people who take food and herbal supplements just because they are recommended by their friends or family, without really convincing themselves of their benefits. Worse, others have no idea or no reason why they are taking such supplements. The problem here lies in proper education of people as to what supplements are, how they benefit the body, and which particular supplements should one take according to his health condition.

We’ve all heard about the goji berry fruit once or twice, but are you aware of its nutritional content and excellent benefits to the human body?

Goji berries are one of the most nutritionally-rich fruits on the planet as it is packed with vitamins, minerals, protein, and antioxidants. Often called a Wolfberry, the goji berry fruit has a taste that resembles a combination of the cherry and cranberry fruit. Being a superfood, it is also often being compared to the acai berry which can be enjoyed in a lot of different ways.

Goji berries are believed to be a complete source of protein and labelled as among the “super foods” that offers longevity and strength development. A single goji berry can contain up to 21 trace minerals, such as iron, zinc, calcium, copper, and different amino acids.

The Science of Gogi Berry Fruit

Goji berries are deciduous, woody perennial plants that bear oval berries that are red-orange in color and measure one to two centimetres in length. It is under the Solanaceae nightshade family that includes chili peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, tobaccos, and eggplants. Goji berries are vine-ripened and usually harvested during summer in north-central China.

Goji berries are known by many names. In China, where it is originally harvested, the fruit is called gouqizi (pronounced goo-chee-zee) or gouqi. In some parts of the world, they are also known as Matrimony vine and Duke of Argyll’s tea tree. More commonly, they are referred to as Himalayan and Tibetan Goji berries, or simply the wolfberry. Scientifically, they are called Lycium chinense and Lycium barbarum.

For at least 2000 years, the goji berry has grown wild in China and has been used as a popular ingredient in producing traditional Chinese medicines and recipes. Over time, people have used the goji berry fruit to help ease common health problems like fever, diabetes, high blood pressure, and age-related problems.

This reputation has inspired scientists to study and investigate about the fruit’s characteristics, potential health benefits, systematic cultivation, and commercialization. Today, goji berry is starting to increase its popularity around the world, with growing export to first-world countries mainly in Europe, Australasia, and the USA.

Goji berries could be eaten raw, cooked, or dried (like raisins) and are used in juices, wines, herbal teas, and medicines.

There are thousands of food and dietary supplements you can see in drug stores and pharmacies, but not all of them are the same. They have different formulations, concentrations, and ingredients. Moreover, different makers of a similar product may have utilized varying procedures and processes in producing the food supplement.

Food supplements may be categorized into two major classifications: natural and synthetic. Natural supplements are extracted from natural resources, while synthetic supplements are made using isolated and replicated chemical structures by scientists. Attempting to replicate the structure and organization of a natural supplement, synthetic substances are a product chemically combination of molecules from other sources. These sources are not living foods, but dead chemicals.

Basically, synthetic food supplements provide isolated or fractionated pieces of the original. It is simply not the same. Most artificially produced supplements are chemical substances that cannot be found or are not available in nature; hence the body does not recognize them properly which may lead to the body’s unexpected reactions. The body can differentiate whether what it takes in is real or fake, and it always prefers real. If you take in synthetic food supplements, you are not getting the full benefit nature has intended for you.

According to nutritional research and studies, there is a significant variation in how the two types of supplements are produced, which influences the effects they bring in to the body. Peter Jones, director of the University of Manitoba’s Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, emphasizes that natural supplements come with some “bonus” benefits that are not present from synthetic supplements. Natural supplements, according to Jones, tend to “bring along some other cofactors, minerals, and things that enhance the biologic activity of that supplement” which are not present in synthetic ones.

“You actually improve its effects in the body in a natural form because you have these coexisting constituents that help the supplement, help the vitamin along in its normal activity. And you don’t have that with the synthetic form,” Jones adds.

The only advantage of synthetic supplements over natural ones is their cheaper price. Synthetic compounds, especially those created in test tubes, are very easy to produce in number and at the same time, making the process very cost efficient and bringing down the prices in drug stores or health shops.