The thing I love most about being a chiropractor is the aspect of my practice that helps prevent disease. It’s why I urge my patients to come to the office throughout cold and flu season. It’s why I make sure my family and I get adjusted whenever we’re battling a bug. And it’s why it’s so important that you understand that I’m here for you now, during this scary and uncertain time.

Because here’s a fact: chiropractic is not only preventative. It can also shorten the duration of a sickness. 

Obviously self-care is critical, now more than ever. Taking your supplements, getting adequate sleep, staying well hydrated and eating wholesome foods all cross-support your ability to stay healthy. But what you may not realize is that chiropractic care can be a secret weapon in our battle to beat this virus. To explain why, let’s dive into one of the most important things you can know about your own health.

A healthy immune system starts in the gut.

If you haven’t already gotten this memo, this will do wonders for how you approach your health care. 

It turns out that 70-80% of the cells that make up our immune system live in the gut. Gut bacteria teaches your immune system’s T cells to distinguish between foreign invaders and the body’s own tissues. This is critically important because whenever there’s a mistake in the system, it can lead your body to start attacking its own cells. If you or someone you love suffers from inflammation, an autoimmune disorder, chronic pain or disease, this system failure is undoubtedly the culprit. 

The other action the gut performs is deciding which particles pass through the intestinal lining into the rest of the body. A healthy digestive system allows digested foods to pass while disallowing larger food particles and antigens that will cause an immune reaction. Nowadays, however, so many of us have compromised gut biomes that the gates are effectively open 24/7.  As a result, particles that shouldn’t be in our bloodstream are, creating a near-constant state of inflammation. 

And guess what that means? If your body is currently fighting what it thinks are foreign invaders--especially if this is an everyday occurrence--it has less to throw at the coronavirus.

Chiropractic adjustments improve gut health.

We know that a healthy spine is integral to a fully functioning nervous system. If you think of the nervous system as an information highway, chiropractic provides the structural maintenance to keep the highway flowing freely.

The gut is the only organ--aside from the brain--with a nervous system of its own, and your chiropractor can be a vital asset in maintaining this as well. Every adjustment you get corrects misaligned vertebrae that are blocking the nerve signals from the brain to the gut. When the clog is removed and the passages are flowing freely again, the myriad functions of the gut can operate at maximum efficiency. Digestive distress is alleviated and the immune system is free to defend against free radicals and foreign pathogens, rather than attacking harmless food particles and its own tissues.

Chiropractic care directly impacts disease resistance

This study, performed in 1992, found that manual adjustments caused the white blood cell count in participants’ bodies to rise significantly - immediately, and after only one adjustment. An increase in white blood cells gives a body greater resistance to infection and toxic invaders. 

In another study, Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute measured 107 individuals who received long-term chiropractic care and discovered that these patients had a 200% greater immune function than those who had not received treatment. Importantly, the superior immune systems of those under chiropractic care did not appear to diminish with age. 

There’s no question that now more than ever we need all the immunity boosting we can get. Call In8Love at 310-477-3335 to schedule your adjustment today. With a healthier gut and a supercharged immune system, you can wage war against COVID-19 and prevail!