Setting Your Body Up For Holiday Success

The holidays are right around the corner, and it’s that time of year that produces all kinds of excess. Many of us can either eat too much, drink too much, celebrate too much, spend too much time with our relatives – all of which can be great, but have lasting side effects.

After eating too much Halloween candy, the next thing thrown at your body is Thanksgiving – which is the holiday season’s poster child for overindulgence. It’s not just food, but there is also increased stress and anxiety during this time of year for countless people. That’s why it is important to go into the holiday season by putting your best body forward.

An adjustment from a chiropractor near you can set you up for success, just by making sure that everything is aligned and communicating for when the excess hits. Too much of a good thing can wreak havoc on your nervous system, and being properly adjusted can offset those pitfalls. From boosting your immune system to decreasing stress to helping regulate your metabolism.

Thanksgiving can be a bit much. It’s usually a time where friends and relatives get together in large groups and make way too much food. And it’s not like Thanksgiving day spreads are pulled right out of a health food convention. They’re loaded with carbs and sugars and other good stuff that can turn into bad stuff.

Tryptophan isn’t necessarily the villain everyone makes it out to be. It’s an essential amino acid, and the body uses it to create niacin – which boosts healthy digest and nerve function. Tryptophan also helps produce serotonin, which is a hormone that helps with digestion, keeps our moods stable and produces feelings of happiness and calmness.

However, there’s a lot of it in Thanksgiving day favorites – turkey and mashed potatoes. The finger gets pointed to tryptophan for causing those post-Thanksgiving meal naps, but there is a lot more that goes into it than that one chemical. Sure, tryptophan can slow you down (that’s the feeling of calmness), but it’s not alone. One of the biggest culprits is the overeating, it’s also loads of carbs – bread, dinner rolls, biscuits, pies, and countless forms of potatoes. Add all of it together, it’s a recipe for sluggishness and afternoon naps for the whole family.

By going into the holidays with a plan, you can alleviate some of the anxiety that goes along with holidays, and maybe some of the weight gain. Spinal adjustments keep your nervous system balanced, which means your body is communicating correctly. Among a number of other things, your nervous system regulates digestion, and can keep it chugging along when you eat too much on Thanksgiving – or eat too many leftovers in the days after!

Of course, there are alternatives – like eating healthier items. For many, however, that isn’t an option when getting back home to visit family. Getting your nervous system dialed in before the holidays can help with some of these issues, but it can also help to get a chiropractic adjustment after the damage is done from the holidays, just to make sure you’re back on track with a healthy and chatty nervous system, as well as keeping your immune system in tip top shape for the rest of the winter months.

For more information on setting your body up for success during the holiday season, contact Dr. Morgan Sheridan at Foundation Chiropractic today.