Nutrition
“The Dr. of the Future will give little medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
- Thomas Edison
America is Facing an Epidemic
Obesity is the second largest preventable cause of death in the US. Smoking is the first.
The US is the fattest nation in the world. The average adult gains seven pounds during the holidays. 64.5% of Americans are overweight.
Source: JAMA 2002; 288: 1723. The problem is so bad life expectancies could begin to decline. Obesity may be linked to other health issues such as diabetes, kidney disease and strokes.
Houston Texas ranked as the fattest city in the United States four out of five years from 2000- 2005. In 2009 we ranked sixth.
Nutritional Findings
One-hundred years ago people didn't eat processed foods, there weren't any! Food had a very short shelf life. People ate FRESH meat, FRESH fruit, FRESH vegetables and grains weren't overly processed. Today our bodies are more toxic due to increased stress, food coloring, food preservatives, pollution, and added hormones. Due to over utilized fields, crop soils have become depleted of vitamins and minerals making it necessary to
add chemically treated fertilizers. Almost all processed foods contain milk, corn, wheat and soy; leading to intolerances and toxicities.
Nutritional deficiencies and chronic degenerative changes have become common in our modern world. Our diets no longer resemble what our bodies were originally designed to assimilate. Our toxic exposures exceed normal abilities. As a result, nutritional therapy has been developed as a way to support us in our changing world. We need to adopt eating habits more like those of our ancestors.
At Crawford Wellness Center, we encourage our patients to include a nutritional evaluation as part of their total wellness program. Most of our physical conditions respond and may even resolve with specific nutritional support.
Cardiovascular Deficency
- Nutritional deficiency in the coronary vasculature
leads to blockage, hypoxia/ischemia and cell
failure (heart attack)
- Deficiency in the electrical nervous system of the
heart leads to irregular heart beats (arrhythmias)
- Deficiency in the cardiac musculature leads to
impaired pumping/strength and shortness of
breath and edema.
The Human Body is 2/3 Water
- Water serves as a primary medium for transport of
nutrients and oxygen to the cells remove wastes as well
as plays a role in creating organ form and temperature
regulation
- Dehydration occurs because there are insufficient
electrolytes to hold the water in osmotic balance – thus
hydration when dehydrated further dilutes and leeches
the minerals
- Minerals concentrate water
- Recommendation: Body weight divided by 2 = ounces of
water to be consumed per day.
- When excersing/or right after, drink tomato juice rather
than sport drinks to replenish electrolytes.
HEALTHY MILESTONES CLUB
We want to reward our patients for all their hard work
while working toward a healthier life style. When nutrition becomes part of a patient's new life style,
there are milestones we want to acknowledge.
- For every 25 pounds of weight loss you will receive
a FREE Nutritional Session.(Supplements not
included)
- In addition to losing pounds there are other
milestones. When a patient has a break through
from each 100 pound marker to another they will
also receive a FREE Nutritional Session.
(Supplements not included).
TIPS FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
- Eat 3 meals a day. Breakfast should be the largest meal, lunch smaller and dinner the smallest.
- Eat snacks i.e. Nuts, cheese, raw vegetables (hummus is a
great dip!)
- Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables each day (2x more
vegetable that fruits)
- Decrease or eliminate grains. They increase the acidity in your body.
- Eat lettuce wraps rather than sandwiches made with bread.
- Clean fresh fruit and vegetables when you get home from the
store so it's easier to “eat-n-go”.
Click here to download our free food diary!