Calling all kids… You can make a difference!  That’s right; you can make a difference in your body’s health. Follow these six tips for kids and you’ve set the foundation for a lifetime of health and wellness.

1. Watch postural hygiene: Like washing your hands and brushing your teeth, sitting up straight and standing upright makes a difference in your health by alleviating pressure on your spine and nervous system. So listen to mom and stand up straight!
2. Maintain a positive attitude: Sounds easy, but with the challenges of home, school, church, and sport responsibilities, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed sometimes. We can’t always do as well as we would like in everything. Sometimes, “good enough” can be good enough.
3. Eat properly: This includes five to nine servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. Remember, it’s not what you eat, it is what you digest that grows you healthy, strong, and smart. Fresh foods have the enzymes necessary to digest food and aid your immune system.
4. A little Chinese medicine: From Chinese Medicine, we know foods that are fried heat up the body. This, coupled with the adolescent changes occurring in your body between ages 10 to 20, can stimulate heat signs like red pimples. Foods that are high in fat and/or sugar cause damp symptoms, like white pus-filled pimples. So eat a balanced diet that is predominately fresh foods, not overly sweetened or fried.
5. Hydrate: Drink plenty of water. If you don’t, the nutrition you consume and the waste your body makes can’t be eliminated. Yuck! The rule is ½ your body weight in ounces of water. For example, 100 lbs. of body weight should consume 50 ounces of water. If you are playing sports or working hard on your chores, then you’ll need more to compensate for the added stress on your body.
6. Breathe deeply: You can play sports hard to get deep breaths, or laugh aloud for fifteen minutes daily, or simply practice breathing exercises. The single most important exercise any of us can do is deep breathing. Here’s why: deep breathing causes a relaxation response, it boosts production of white blood cells (the immune system’s fighters against disease) and it helps digest long chain fatty acids (the fat in grains). Get inspired, or you’ll expire!  

And of course don’t overlook the role of a properly functioning nervous system!  Interference (subluxations) can lead to impaired concentration, disruptive sleep patterns and less than stellar performance in the classroom and the athletic field. Make regular chiropractic adjustments part of your healthy habits!

Kids, you have more control over you health than you think! The choices you make can make a difference and set the foundation for a lifetime of great health!