Making a meal plan is a pain, but you still want to get all your necessary vitamins, minerals, and protein through everyday foods. Even if you're not a cooking expert, you can employ a few very simple hacks in the dishes you commonly prepare. You'll be surprised how these little boosts can reap big, nutritious rewards.

No. 1: Add Quinoa to Recipes.
Want to add extra texture or color to your steamed white or brown rice? Mix it up with 1 cup of quinoa (any color) and another 2 cups of water or broth. Or, simply throw quinoa into any grain-friendly soup you're preparing, like a simple chicken soup. Quinoa is rich in antioxidants and filled with fiber to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, reducing your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

No. 2: Replace cream with almond, walnut, or oat milk.
Cream is a popular mainstay in any kitchen, but it doesn't have to be dairy cream. Plant-based milk and creamer (such as almond, walnut, or oat milk) are often extra rich in vitamins and minerals and low in fat. They contain no cholesterol and are easy on your digestive system. Because they all have slightly different flavor profiles, you can pick your favorite. Walnut milk works surprisingly well in a creamy pasta sauce.
 No. 3: Add frozen spinach to almost anything.
Fresh spinach quickly loses its folate, powerful vitamins, and nutritional benefits over time, but spinach, frozen at its peak freshness, saves the day. That's why frozen spinach is actually more nutritious than most fresh spinach at the supermarket. Whether it's for pasta, pizza, scrambled eggs, cheese dip, a smoothie, or curry, frozen spinach is more versatile than you might think. Plus, studies show spinach may have amino acids that help reduce stress and depression!

(Bonus) No. 4: Add chia seeds to cold drinks, yogurt, baked desserts, and more!
It's easy to feel guilty for indulging your cravings for sweet tea, pudding, cookies, and cake. But if you add chia seeds, you might feel a little better about it. These small seeds are densely packed with antioxidants, minerals, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids, all of which may promote heart health, support strong bones, and improve blood sugar management.

We hope these tips help make your favorite dishes a little more fun and guilt-free. Enjoy!

Staying hydrated is one of the pillars of healthy living. In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, women should drink 11.5 cups (92 oz) of water a day, and men should drink 15.5 cups (124 oz) a day. But, if we're being honest, water can be pretty boring to drink - there are things we'd rather be drinking, and busy schedules make it difficult. Here are some ways to wok more water into your daily routine to promote optimal health.

Begin and end your day with water.
Make it a routine to drink a large glass of water upon waking up and before going to bed. "Bookending" your day like this ensures that your body is hydrated for both the day and night ahead.

Drink a cup of water with each cup of coffee.
Many of us are used to drinking more than one cup of coffee throughout the day. If you drink a glass of water with each cup of coffee, you're sure to stay hydrated. Keep in mind that while coffee is a liquid and contains water, it's not very thirst quenching.

Ice is your friend.
Each time you pour a drink or make a smoothie, use lots of ice! Your taste buds will hardly notice the difference, and you'll still have lots of flavor while boosting your hydration.

Drink a full glass with supplements or vitamins.
Many of us get in the habit of only taking a large sip of water with pills. However, whether you take a supplement, medication, or vitamin, wash it down with a full glass of water.

Carry around a large water bottle.
Taking your water with you in a large bottle reminds you to keep sipping wherever you go. Every chance you get, fill it up. The bottomless water bottle is a perfect way to work more water into your day. As a bonus, you can use a measured bottle to see how much you've actually drank throughout the day!

Infuse your water.
Try giving your H2O an extra kick. Add berries, lemon, lime, or mint to your water to give it some flavor and help make it more enticing to drink!

Water is important for a healthy body and mind, so follow these tips to stay hydrated. 

Sunday, March 20 is the first day of spring - which means it's time for some spring-cleaning. Did you know that cleaning is not just about tidying up a physical space? It's also about improving overall well-being. Here's how organization and cleanliness can help you in more ways than you might expect.

Spring-cleaning reduces stress and depression.
Tidiness and mental health are actually connected. Studies have found that having a clean home is directly correlated to happiness and your ability to focus. Anxiety can spike when laundry is piling up, items are strewn everywhere, and papers get scattered on various surfaces within the home. Clearing the clutter is a great way to boost your mood and increase those feel-good hormones.

It prevents illness.
Doorknobs, refrigerator handles, light switches, countertops, and remote controls are all things we touch many times a day. Cleaning anything that's used often is one way to reduce the spread of germs. By keeping household surfaces clean, we help thwart the spread of viruses and illnesses.

Spring-cleaning helps you breathe better.
Spring cleaning brings pollen that triggers allergies for many. But pollen isn't the only thing to blame when people have difficulty breathing. When dust and pet dander build up in your home, your respiratory system is greatly affected too. Deep-cleaning your air filters and vents can make breathing effortless - and it's truly amazing how this can improve your well-being.

It keeps you more active.
Off the couch and on your feet! Even just running the vacuum and clearing the clutter from the dining room table will get you up and moving, which is healthy for your heart and body.

This spring season, putting some elbow grease into your cleaning will benefit you in more ways than one. Trust me, you'll thank yourself later!

Thank you Chiro1Source for the article.

Have you ever visited a chiropractor because you had pain in your neck or back? Many of us have. But that's not all chiropractic care is good for. In fact, you can reap a whole host of health benefits when you pay regular visits to your chiropractor.

CHIROPRACTIC CARE IMPROVES YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE
Chiropractic care isn't just about your spine. It involves the nervous system and every part of your body. The overall goal of chiropractic care is to improve nerve flow, which impacts your daily function and quality of life.

When a chiropractor improves your body's nerve flow, you start to experience a host of unexpected benefits. We've outlined a few of them for you.

Improved immune function
A healthy immune system keeps viral and bacterial infections at bay. Your nervous system regulates cell functions, but even the slightest misalignment can interrupt the process, and this has a ripple effect on your immune system's ability to fight off viruses.

Chiropractic care restores function to your nerves to ensure your cells are operating the way they're supposed to.

More energy
When your body is sore, joints and muscles tense up, resulting in inflammation. This tension and pain gets in the way of your well-being. But with chiropractic care, joint and muscle discomfort is reduced, and you experience a vitality boost.

Clearer thinking, concentration and memory
Did you ever have a day when your mind was extra sharp, thoughts and ideas came quickly or your memory was especially good? Ever have the opposite type of day? Well, your body chemistry determines to a great extent your ability to think, concentrate and remember. Body chemistry is controlled by your nerve system and your nerve system works better without any interference.

Lowered blood pressure
Studies show that a chiropractic adjustment targeting the nerves in your upper neck, which may be just as effective as taking blood pressure medication at lowering blood pressure.

Better digestion
There are probably hundreds of reasons why certain foods affect certain people. Most times, the cause can be traced back to the inability of the body to handle the food. If it was the food, then it would negatively affect everyone. There are many reasons why your body, in general, and your nerve system, in particular, may not work properly. One of those reasons, an interference in the nerve system due to vertebral subluxation, can be addressed by regular visits to the chiropractor.

More sleep
All sleep is not the same. Just because you get ten hours does not mean you are getting the kind of rest you need. At different times, we have all awakened refreshed, sluggish or tired from the same amount of sleep. How well your body is working will determine how much of your sleep is real sleep and not just "down time."

Greater value from your exercise
We all need to exercise regularly. Some of us just do not have the energy to get up off the couch to begin a workout, although that is an issue we have already addressed. Some of us have an interference in the nerve system that keeps the muscles of our body from receiving a full complement of vital life energy. It is like trying to exercise a paralyzed muscle. There is not enough energy going to those muscles. That is what happens when there is interference in the nerve system due to subluxation.

Healthier and easier pregnancies
It's been reported that chiropractic care may assist in healthier pregnancies and easier deliveries. Your body goes through momentous changes during pregnancy which impacts the nerve system. Weight increases in the body's core and ligaments in the pelvis loosen, placing increased stress on your spine and nerve system. Regular chiropractic adjustments can ensure both a healthier mother and baby.

Less stress
How can getting adjusted make your job easier or cause your kids to give you less problems? Well, it can't. But there is a difference between adversity and stress. Adversities are the circumstances of life. You cannot change them. Stress is the inability to handle those adversities. How well your body is working well determine to some degree how much adversity you can handle and how much stress you have in your life.

Enjoy life more
The bottom line is to have a happier and more fulfilled life. If you see improvement in the areas above, your life has to be more enjoyable. Even some of the things you do not enjoy now could become more pleasurable and rewarding. Visit your chiropractor this week!

Chiropractic Helps Boost Immune System
The majority of us understand that the spine/nerve system controls mobility in our body. If the spine is broken, we become paraplegic or quadriplegic depending on where it is broken. The nerve system which runs through your spine regulates all the functions of the body including your immune system.

Think of it like this, your spine is the superhighway of your body, it controls everything and like the interstate highways that are 2, 3, or even 4 lanes all going in the same direction, the spine can form clogs and congestion. Imagine the 3 or 4 lane highway squeezing to one or two lanes from an accident; our spine can also squeeze down the signals that run through it due to trauma from an injury or from stress of everyday life events that cause the spine to shift out of place interfering with those vital nerve messages.

How can you remove the congestion or block? Regular chiropractic adjustments can untangle the roadblock of your spine allowing the body's functions to receive the proper signals it needs to function appropriately and at it's best.

A close up look at the nerve and immune systems
The sympathetic nerve system (a lane on the super highway) is one of the processes that allows the nerve system to directly control the immune system.

Keeping the spine aligned provides an open lane for the nerve impulses to travel from one place in the body to another such as the immune system. It also allows the healing elements (white blood cells, macrophages, etc) to travel to the area of the body that needs them.

Researchers discovered the importance of the connection of the sympathetic nerve system in 1987 when they discovered norepinephrine in the immune system organs such as the lymph nodes. [1]

In 1989 Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute as well as a professor of medicine at New York University followed up that discovery. He found over a three year study looking at the immune system of the following patient types: people receiving chiropractic care, some having cancer and additional terminal illnesses, and the general public not under chiropractic care that patients under chiropractic care for 5 years had a 200% boosted immune system compared to those who were not under chiropractic care. [2] [3]

A 2015 study shows that the brain and the immune system are the two chief adaptive systems in the body. The two speak to each other to preserve homeostasis and health. [4]

As you can see the nerve system and immune system are intricately intertwined and keeping the nerve system free of interference will help keep the immune system strong. Of course there are other things that can help too: getting adequate rest, drinking plenty of water, reducing sugar, exercising, eating a good diet, and having a positive mental attitude also play a role.

[1] "Felton DL, Felton SY, Belonged DL, et al." "Noradrenergic sympathetic neural interations with the immune system: structure and fucntion." Immunol Rev. 1987 Dec;100:225-60.

[2] "Pero R." "Medical Researcher Excited by CBSRF Project Results." The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32.

[3] "Enhancing Your Immune System For Better Health" November 8, 2014 by Dr. Tony Jensen

[4] "Elenkov IJ, Wilder RL, Chrousos GP, Vizi ES" "The sympathetic nerve an integrative interface between the two supersystems: the brain and the immune system." Pharmacol Rev 2000;52:295-63.

How to catch the coronavirus:

Eat a poor diet. Make sure your body lacks the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and micronutrients needed for optimal health.

Avoid adequate rest. Stay up late and rely on sugar, tobacco, coffee and energy drinks as needed.

Become dehydrated. Reduce the effectiveness of your natural defense mechanisms by shunning adequate water.

Stop exercising. Reduce the efficiency of your lymphatic system, which depends on movement to circulate this vital germ-fighting fluid.

Rarely wash your hands. Use your dirty hands and fingers to rub your eyes, pick your nose or wipe your lips.

Think negative thoughts. Worry that you'll be a victim. Closely monitor news reports about outbreaks, fearing a pandemic.

Skip your chiropractic adjustments. Handicap your nerve system, the master system that controls your entire body. Wait until symptoms are present before doing anything.

The only way to catch anything is to make yourself a hospitable host.

The germ theory of disease is a common belief. This belief, like many in the health arena, causes all kinds of strange behaviors.

Many will wear flimsy, ill-fitting paper masks. However, the perforations that permit breathing are huge compared to the single-cell virus they are trying to strain out.

Many will avoid Chinese restaurants. Or drink Corona beer.

Many will apply all manner of disinfectants in the hope that killing enough germs will cause health to manifest.

Meanwhile they set about the business of compromising their immune system, which if vibrant, would be more than capable of keeping them disease free.

Fed by the 24/7 news cycle, the fear mongering is the perfect way to attract more eyeballs that can be sold to advertisers. Which these days are increasingly to pharmaceutical companies.

What many forget is that Louis Pasteur, the father of the germ theory, recanted his assertion on his deathbed. "It's the soil, not the seed," he observed. In other words, without a hospitable host, germs can do very little. Too late. By then the meme had been released and the rest is history.

The human immune system has successfully shunned the black plague of the Dark Ages, the Spanish Flu of 1918, polio, measles and many others. If the germ theory were true the human race wouldn't still be around to worry about it!

Germs are a lot like seeds. In fact, when seeds begin to grow, we refer to it as 'germination.' If you've ever tried to start a new lawn from scratch, you already know that conditions have to be just right for the grass seeds to germinate.

And it takes a lot more than just the seeds (or germs) to become a seedling (or a disease). For example, if you were to spread grass seed (germs) on your living room carpet, it wouldn't become a new lawn. The necessary conditions for growth - soil, water and light - wouldn't be correct. Same with germs. The conditions have to be just right for germs to cause disease.

Try to rise above the hysteria and mob mentality. Be a voice of reason and composure. And the truth.

Bill Esteb has been a chiropractic patient and advocate since 1981. He is the creative director of Patient Media and the co-founder of Perfect Patients. He's been a regular speaker at Parker Seminars and other chiropractic gatherings since 1985. He is the author of 12 books that explore the doctor/patient relationship from a patient's point of view. patientmedia.com

1. Better coordination - when your spine is aligned and positioned optimally, your whole body is more coordinated. Better coordination improves body performance.

2. Increase in sensorimotor function - The better your brain can see the position of your body, the less likely you are to have an injury. Improve sensorimotor function = less injury.

3. Improved focus - for obvious reasons. Finish like a beast! Greater focus yields greater possibilities.

4. Greater muscle force - research has shown up to a 13% increase in explosive force in lower extremity muscle groups. Imagine the impact with squats, clean and jerk, and snatches!

5. Less fatigue - a better coordinated body costs you less energy. It's simple economics. Increased stamina to complete your workout!

Chiropractic is best utilized as a habit for a lifetime to improve your quality of life.

Interested? Of course you are. Give us a call and Dr. Kori will be happy to give you a 15 min phone consult. 805-364-3223 Check out our website www.drkori.com for membership options.

What controls the heart, lungs and every other organ, cell and tissue in the body?

If you guessed the brain, you're right.

But how does the brain tell all those important functions what they need to do, and when to do it? The nerve system is responsible for that vital communication.

From Stressed to Stabilized.

This master control system has two modes:
1. Sympathetic - in charge of the fight, flight, or freeze response.
2. Parasympathetic - in charge of growth and healing.

Stress causes the sympathetic nerve system to take over and puts a child into a state of imbalance.

This can look like:

• Chronic illness
  
• Clinical emotional/behavioral diagnosis
  
• Meltdowns
  
• Sensory sensitivity
  

At Dr Kori - Chiropractic in Santa Barbara, we offer solutions for ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and chronic illnesses naturally.

Chiropractic care stimulates a child's parasympathetic nerve system. When it functions optimally, their body will too.

Contact us today to find out more about enhancing your child's well-being, naturally! We offer complimentary consultations that can be done by phone.

Many chiropractors are perplexed as to why chiropractic has become associated with bad backs, stiff necks and other musculo-skeletal problems. The first chiropractic patient was deaf and he, in fact, did not even go to the chiropractor for his deafness. (Since chiropractic had not yet been discovered there were obviously no chiropractors at the time). The patients name was Harvey Lillard and he was a janitor in the office building where Dr. D.D. Palmer had his office. Dr. Palmer was a drugless healer, what we call "alternative health-care practitioner" today. Palmer theorized that the bump in Lillard's neck that had appeared when he became deaf was a bone out of place and if it could be put back in place, the janitor's hearing might be restored. The rest is history.

What happened on the September day in 1895? D.D. Palmer did not cure deafness. Although the janitor's hearing was restored, Palmer had simply corrected a vertebral subluxation, he allowed the innate intelligence of the body to normalize the function of the nerve system and the result was that Lillard's body healed itself of a hearing problem. For the last 124 years, thousands of chiropractors have been doing the same thing to millions of people, that is, removing interference to allow the innate intelligence to better express itself. Some of those patients have had medical problems, from a very minor ailment like the common cold to something very serious like terminal cancer. Some of them got well and some did not. It was not because chiropractic succeeds in some people and fails in others. The objective of chiropractic is only to correct the nerve interference. Only the living body heals itself. Sometimes it can, sometimes it cannot. However, the body is always more capable of healing without the nerve interference caused by a vertebral subluxation.

As a result of those millions of adjustments, some children did better in school, some were better athletes, and some grew into more productive adults. Some probably were able to get into better colleges and some probably got better jobs because the mind thinks and the body works better with a good nerve supply. As adults, some of those people probably lived longer, healthier lives. Some of them were able to work better, miss less work, and reduce injuries. Some of the women undoubtedly had healthier pregnancies and gave birth to healthier children. All of them were able to fulfill more of their potential in every aspect of life because of their adjustments. You see, when the body is free of nerve interference, every organ, gland and cell works better. The body's chemistry is more perfectly balanced and the body has more life giving energy to do everything it was designed to do. Chiropractic impacts every aspect of life of every person who receives care.

How is it then that so many people think chiropractic is just for bad backs and stiff necks? How is it that the average person does not know that it is not about your back, it is about your life? The real objective of chiropractic, to allow the body's innate intelligence to express itself more fully in every man, woman, and child, may be the most closely guarded secret in the health care community. That simply cannot continue. It is up to the chiropractic profession and those who regularly receive chiropractic care and know what it is all about to share that knowledge with the rest of the world.

Chiropractic patients are divided into two general categories. The first category includes a large number of patients who utilize chiropractic to enable their bodies to work better so that they might heal themselves of some condition or symptom. They understand that the chiropractor is not treating the condition or attempting to alleviate the symptom but that if he or she can correct the vertebral subluxation, the body will have a greater capacity to heal itself. They come in to have their subluxations corrected and find that their bodies work at a higher level, quite often high enough to get well of the physical problems they had when they arrived. Thousands of people have had their health restored because when nerve interference is removed at the vertebral level, the principle that heals and runs the billions upon billions of cells in the body is free to work a little better. Sadly, though, many of these people do not fully utilize chiropractic care.

The second group of people realize that the same principle that enables the body to get well can also keep it well. They do not use chiropractic care merely as a way of regaining their health but as part of an overall, health-maintenance program. They come regularly whether they feel good or not. They know that being adjusted well enable them to express more life in numerous ways, some we cannot even imagine. We do know that you can have more energy, better coordination, more flexibility, a greater ability to handle stress, and a greater benefit from the food, exercise and sleep that you get. All of this from regular adjustment? Absolutely! Which of the above is not affected by your nerve system? Logically, a better nerve system, one free of interference, has to help accomplish all the above. How much benefit depends upon you, but everyone will have a better functioning body with a good nerve supply. Not only do these people come regularly but they also bring their families in and refer friends and relatives for chiropractic care. They know that it is far better to get someone under care while they are still healthy than to wait until they manifest the symptoms of a lack of health. They want everyone to experience some of the benefits listed above.

As a health care facility, our desire is to see primarily the second category of patients. We obviously would not turn away a patient with a medial condition who wanted his or her subluxations corrected so that their body had a greater potential for healing. Everyone needs chiropractic care, people with medical conditions of any kind need regular adjustments as much as people with no medical problems, even if they need medical care at the same time. What we really desire is to see hundreds of people who are concerned enough about their health to come in regularly with their families to receive adjustments and stay healthy. We hope that it is your desire to be one of these type of people. If there is ever something about chiropractic care that you do not understand, please ask us. It is our desire and pleasure to make you aware of all the benefits of being subluxation free.