One of the many reasons why I love chiropractic is because of how relevant and essential it is in the journey of life. Like there are principles that govern society, chiropractic philosophy is comprised of core principles that introduce the backbone of the profession. Specifically, principle 17 states every effect has a cause and every cause has an effect. There is clinical relevance when considering the relationship between cause and effect. It’s simple to relate chiropractic with biochemistry through this principle. 

There are multiple diseases that develop due to deficiencies of amino acids in the body. There are 20 essential amino acids, and when you are deficient in certain ones, it causes diseases to develop. A major disease related to amino acid deficiencies is pellagra. This disease is due to a niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency. Because another amino acid named tryptophan is the precursor for niacin, this disease is also classified as a deficiency in tryptophan. This is important because tryptophan is 1 out of 20 amino acids considered to be essential. Pellagra causes diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death. Like this example of cause and effect, there is another disease termed kwashiorkor. This disease is defined as the deficiency in albumin, the protein in the blood. Albumin is what controls the osmotic pressure in the body. When deficient in albumin, the osmotic pressure is effected, and fluid flows out to the tissues causing an out-pouched stomach. Additionally, phenylketonuria, shortened to PKU, is a phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency. This is the enzyme that converts the amino acid phenylalanine into another named tyrosine. When not converted, phenylalanine can build up in the brain and cause severe mental retardation, seizures, and death. 

There is an effect to every cause, and a cause to every effect. The chiropractic principle has a significant relevance to us as people because of the everyday proof that causes have effects, and vice-versa. The choices we make everyday produce an outcome in our lives. From the food we choose to fuel our bodies, to the care we choose. With this in mind, the importance of chiropractic is always relevant and beneficial because of the life-changing outcomes it produces.

What’s it like to be fully present in your life? And I mean actually 100% there. It is funny how much you think you’re at your best until something comes along and shows you otherwise. That was chiropractic for me and my family- a complete eye-opener to what life can be like when you choose to show up for your health and your life. Like many I know around me, I came to chiropractic through experience. I was able to feel the difference in living in a body with and without nerve interference. As cliché as it sounds, the difference was life changing. My dad didn’t have to get back surgery. My grandma rid herself of pain she’s be riddled with for years. Our bodies were different. They felt fully there, like they’ve never felt before. 

I always knew I wanted to go into a profession that helped people. I felt like that was what I was destined to do, yet I had no idea how I wanted to do it. There just wasn’t a medical field that resonated with me. Nothing seemed to click, and nothing seemed to match my belief system, until my eyes were opened to chiropractic. Wow, could it be? A profession that I’m destined for that matches my beliefs more than anything has before- a dream. When chiropractic came into my life, I chose to show up for myself and my health to realize medicine was not my path. Health is. Life is. It was always so much more, and I finally understood it.

When I think about the times I am most happy and feel the most full, it is when I take a step back and take everything in. It’s when I’m completely present in the here and now, absorbed with gratitude and love for the life I live. I didn’t realize until just recently that I was able to feel this way because of finding chiropractic. Why? Because you just don’t know what you don’t know. I didn’t know I wasn’t living my best life until I was actually living it. A nervous system that functions without interference is a nervous system that allows you to be fully present-fully alive, fully aware. So that’s my dream. To give people that eye-opening experience of being fully present in their lives for the first time in a long time. It’s good to show up, slow down, and soak it all in. It’s even better to be so in tune with yourself to realize the presence you bring to your own life. Why not bring it all? 

“Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment. Fully alive, fully aware.” 

                                                                    -Thich Nhat Hanh

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