Musculoskeletal Nutrition

The utilization of nutrition in the chiropractic practice varies widely with some doctors employing it with 100 percent of their patients while others never use it at all. This month marks what has become an annual column aimed at those doctors who do not incorporate nutrition at any level into their practices.

For those of you who do not utilize nutrition as an adjunct to your in-office treatment, what you will read today is for your patients. It is low-cost, easy to follow advice that is painless to implement. It will make your treatment more effective and your patients happier. And we all know that happy people refer.

The following is designed for you to cut out, copy, and give to your patients.

Help Your Injury with Nutrition

1. Drink an extra glass of water when you wake up in the morning, before lunch, before dinner, and before bed (if your bladder is small, just drink a cup at bedtime).

2. Increase your protein intake from two to three servings a day of foods such as fish, chicken (no skin), or turkey. Beef, pork, and dairy can also be eaten, but tend to be high in fat. Choose low and nonfat varieties. You can also buy some protein powder (especially recommended for vegetarians) and blend protein drinks with fruit and juice. Use 25 grams of protein powder per drink.

3. Do your best to stay away from junk food. Although eating less junk food is always good to do, it is especially important when you are recovering. Foods like sodas, chips, candy, and baked goods can rob your body of important nutrients it needs to heal. Try snacking on fresh fruit, plain bagels, or low-fat sports bars. Ice cream lovers are advised to eat low or nonfat yogurt.

4. If you are on a weight-loss diet, put it on hold until you feel better. Increase the number of calories you eat to a level where you maintain your current weight. Trying to lose weight and heal at the same time often slows down the healing process and may inhibit your weight loss.

5. Take multivitamins and multiminerals that provide you with at least 100 percent of the RDA for all the minerals including calcium and magnesium. Because minerals are large, it is impossible to fit 100 percent of them into one pill. Formulas that do have 100 percent of all the minerals generally require that you take four to six tablets or capsules per day. Multipacks are a convenient choice for people on the go. If you already have a pill-a-day multivitamin, add to this a mineral only formula.

6. Take extra vitamin C. Because you are injured you need more than normal. Multiply your body weight by 10 and then round to the nearest 100. For example, 150 pounds x 10 = 1500 mg. Don't forget you already have some vitamin C in your multivitamin.

7. When you are better:

• continue to drink plenty of water;
• reduce your protein intake back to two servings a day;
• try to maintain healthy snacking habits;
• those of you who suspended your weight-loss programs may resume them;
• continue with your multivitamin, multimineral supplement;
• continue to take at least 500 mg per day of vitamin C.

G. Douglas Andersen, DC
Brea, California