Washington Park Chiropractic

Happy Day 9!  Today in addition to the rice and veggies you have already added in – go ahead and eat some beans & nuts.  Woo Hoo.  You are almost there.  This is it.  You should be finishing your last two protein drinks today so savor them.  The protein drink can be enjoyed later on but remember, it has calories so it is definitely a meal replacement!  Your i5 meal replacement drink is pretty much what gets us through the cleanse, most of the things we drink are not very substantial and they go down easy.  Your i5 is very substantial in calories and protein so don’t over-do it after the cleanse is over.  Be sure to ask Rachel if and how to use your meal replacement drink in your normal diet.

Have you started planning your first real meal yet?  Mine is for sure going to be a burger.  Ok, maybe a 1/2 burger.  I’m definitely trying to ease back into normal eating.  I still keep asking myself if I will go back to my daily 2 cups of black tea?  One cup?  No cups?  Maybe I’ll add more apples and pears to my regular diet.  This cleanse has been a great ‘reset’ button for me.

Today is your last really HARD day.  Four Shakes and all the lettuce and apples you can eat!  Yum.  Here are a few creative ideas:

Put lots of spinach in your shake – you won’t taste it but all of that Mg and Ca will help with leg cramps and fatigue

Try a spinach saute’ with sauteed pear slices.  Yum.

Don’t forget you can also have broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  Those are delicious grilled or baked.  Yum.

Broccoli and spinach soup is nice too.

Use your spices – cinnamon, garlic, salt, pepper.

Tomorrow you can add in white rice & veggies.  Hooray!

Welcome to day three.  Today is your last day for rice, grains and nuts!  Have your fill of peanut butter & rice today.  A wonderful twist on your protein drink is vanilla, frozen cherries, spinach and ice in the blender.  Yum!  Today you may be feeling tired – or maybe even fell asleep at 830 last night (like me!)  I found that a wonderful massage right about now will help a lot.  And – you  deserve it!  We happen to have two wonderful massage therapists to help your lymphatic flow during the middle of your cleanse.

Tomorrow – no more grains or nuts.  But you do get to get to increase your i5 protein drink.  Get your fill of yummy veggies like avocado, asparagus, squash and celery before those are all gone on Day 5!

Welcome to day two of your cleanse.  The bad news – you may be having some headaches today, mainly from caffeine withdrawal.  The good news – you can still have rice and nuts so eat them up!  Also good news, you start your shakes today and they are yummy delicious.

From Rachel @ NutritionWorks:

Cushions for the spine.

By: Dr. Jake Simpson, DC

The discs of the spine are made of a strong cartilage and a “jelly-like” substance inside and are located in between 24 bones of your spinal column.  Each disc is attached to the vertebrae above and below it.  Along with providing cushion from impact and gravity, the discs also space the vertebrae far enough apart from one another allowing for spinal roots (nerves) to leave the spinal cord/column and supply our body with all the nervous system information necessary for a healthy life.  Injury or degenerative processes to the discs can be very painful and traumatic to our body’s ability to function properly.  Problems to the disc include: thinning, wedging, bulging, protrusions, tearing or herniation…note: no “slipping”.     

Each disc has the natural ability to withstand the motions of life.  Healthy discs give you the flexibility of the spinal column and produce a pumping action that supplies proper disc nutrition and waste removal via blood flow.  However, trauma can lead to a chain reaction of negative consequence.  Spinal misalignments and joint restrictions can cause the disc tissue over time to adapt into a wedge-like shape.  While this is the earliest stage of disc damage, symptoms may or may not be present even though disc encroachment unto adjacent nerve tissue may be happening. 

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By Ashley Bennett

I was recently talking with a coach and he said that he often suggested chocolate milk for muscle recovery.  Now that it is coming up on the New Year, many will start to hit the gym.  I figured this would be a good subject to talk about.

What do you do after your workout to recover?  Along with stretching, massage and re hydration, there has been research on the quality of chocolate milk in the recovery process.  I thought I would share an article with you about the nutritional value of chocolate milk and our muscles.  Enjoy!!

Fat-free chocolate milk beat out carbohydrate sports drinks at helping to rebuild and refuel muscles after exercise, researchers report.

The combination of carbohydrates and protein in low-fat chocolate milk appears to be “just right” for refueling weary muscles, says William Lunn, PhD, an exercise scientist at the University of Connecticut.

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By Jocelyn Leidenfrost

It is incredibly important to take care of your back.  This may be an obvious statement to anyone reading this blog on the Washington Park Chiropractic website, however, many people take their healthy spines for granted and as a result may suffer injuries later in life.  As for me, I have been taking extremely good care of my back since I was diagnosed with scoliosis in the 6^th grade.  For about four years I wore a back brace almost all day and night to prevent further curvature.  I would take my brace off for several hours a day while I was at my dance studio, in gym class, or running around at soccer games or practices.  After I would outgrow a back-brace I would get ‘molded’ for a new one; I was told this was similar to getting a cast even though I have never broken a bone on my body other than a finger (knock on wood)!   I would also do exercises every night or day to strengthen my back and take hot baths before bed to relax my muscles.  My mother was always by my side and I still fondly remember our visits to my orthopedic doctor who always told me that I could still do anything in the world that I wanted to, as long as it was legal.

Screenings at Washington Park Chiropractic

For anyone reading this with children, I think it is absolutely crucial to have your kids get yearly scoliosis screenings. In my case, my middle school offered free screenings but it wasn’t until my pediatrician did a scoliosis check that I found out.   Dr. Goodman has found scoliosis in several children over the last few years (when their pediatrician missed it!)  Regular check-ups with our doctors will ensure that your child’s spine is cared for early on.  About 7 million people in the United States are affected by scoliosis and surgery can possibly be avoided if caught soon enough. 

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By: Amanda Miller

I started working in the wellness industry when I was still a teenager.  I began working as a receptionist in a massage therapy center in Pennsylvania, and that experience sparked my interest in health, healing and the body.  As I got older, I remained passionate about holistic health, and now I’ve been in the industry for well over a decade.  But the one question I keep coming back to year after year is, “Why is it so easy for me to give out great advice or information to my clients, but so hard for me to follow myself?”.  I do massage almost every day, and I spend all day telling my clients how important it is to take time for themselves and treat their bodies well, but have a hard time taking my own advice – it makes me wonder, why is it so easy to take care of everyone and everything else, but so hard to make oneself a priority?

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