New technologies are removing the time factor; nutrition counseling steps to helping patients
We all know as chiropractors the “Triad of Health” (ideal structure, emotional well-being and nutrition) provides the pillars for a healthy patient. As chiropractors we have the adjustment as our signature service, which sets us apart from all other practitioners. Many chiropractors offer additional products and services to complement the adjustment; nutritional counseling steps to providing care and supplements are at the top of the list, and rightfully so.
Pinpointing deficiencies via nutrition counseling steps
Nutrient deficiency relates to virtually all of the most common chronic degenerative diseases of our current day. These include cardiovascular disease, immune system weakness, brain and mental imbalance, indigestion, metabolic syndrome, and pain and inflammation, just to name a few.
Understanding functional medicine, lab testing, research validation, symptom surveys, patient history, muscle testing techniques and clinical experience provide conclusive reasons for the practicing clinician to be confident and successful offering nutritional supplement services. All of these methods should maintain widespread application in the current clinical landscape.
However, the foundation of nutrition is the food we eat and what we drink. Whether a person wants to be their healthiest, slim down and lose their belly, or is an athlete looking for optimum performance to build muscle, learning to eat correctly is a giant difference-maker in every situation. Maybe the patient’s desire is to reduce pain and inflammation, better control or reverse diabetes, lower blood pressure, balance cholesterol, and improve or reverse other chronic degenerative conditions. When looking at an accurate patient food log, most of the time what the patient ingests plays the primary role in lab test outcome and overall health, or the lack thereof. Too many times, proper food and drink intake is the most neglected component of any clinical program.
Health research and weight loss
Research and epidemiological studies agree on what is the biggest underlying cause to people’s health problems worldwide.
“Globally, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality is now chronic non-communicable diseases, closely associated with the obesity epidemic, and the widespread adoption of unhealthy diets and behaviors.”1
Most natural health care practitioners and consumers intuitively know that the food we eat has a tremendous impact on how our bodies look, develop, perform and heal. But the problem lies in that of the three pillars of the Triad of Health, healthy eating is the most time-consuming to explain, the most difficult to manage, seems the most confusing to patients, and every day there seems to be some new quick-fix nutrition theory to exacerbate the existing confusion.
The weight-loss market is continuously growing. The general public are looking for help and are spending money to prove it. In 2021, $255 billion was spent solely on weight loss2 and every year consumers are spending an additional 8%+ more. But it is clear that the U.S. populace is getting fatter. Why does the average person, who wants to be healthier or lose weight, seek help from a gym trainer or a weight-loss group instead of their doctor of chiropractic, who is the true expert in all things health?
Overcoming the fad diets and quick fixes
The mass population’s health failures will maintain until natural health clinicians, who provide an efficient system, replace silver-bullet product claims, prepackaged chemical-laden food, magic pills, “secret” bio hacks, one-dimensional diet books with no accountability, and the latest marketing fads.
Solutions for everyone need to include education on real food. The healthy eating system of the future must implement the client’s body composition (not weight alone) measured regularly, comparing their results to food logging and how the individual food intake affects each individual’s physiology — healthy or poor. Reinforcing the positive behaviors and prescribing one or two priorities of improvement is not overwhelming and provides consistent short- and long-term results to the client for nutritional counseling steps — all while adjustments, supplements or rehab are being offered.
For generations the average person hasn’t known what to do in regard to diet and is overwhelmed by quick-fix lies, deprivation diets, skipping meals or eliminating whole macro groups (fat-free, carb-free, meat-free), which is simply not sustainable or beneficial to most long-term. Even the majority of those who are trying are undernourished, even though commonly overfed. The mainstream diet carousel has caused the average person at every age and gender to be fatter. Food tricks have injured their metabolism and they have less energy, maintain false beliefs that more medication is the answer, and feel worse about themselves when they look in the mirror or shop for clothes.
Understanding carbohydrates and nutritional balance
Nutrition really shouldn’t be this complicated.
The top (fitness industry) professional nutrition coaches have known for decades how to maximize weight loss and maintain or grow muscle without sacrificing health and performance.
Just as one example of an area that needs improvement is to understand the importance that healthy, quality carbohydrates have on muscle growth.3
The correct balanced meal planning and nutrition system has been proven under the spotlight of global competition against other experts. The results of improved health, optimum performance and extended athletic careers validates the science and methods currently available by nutritional food programming that is generally not applied by health practitioners. These experts promote eating a balanced macro diet of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats, including lots of vegetables and high-fiber foods.
Believe it or not, there are specific and proven formulas to determine the amount of food for a person and their goals. These formulas are based on active metabolic tissue (muscle and working organs) and inactive tissue such as visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and water (as well as activity level and desired outcome). The formulas and applications work great when provided by an experienced professional who holds the patient accountable and includes step-by-step education and solutions that are applied in real life.
Nutritional counseling steps: charging for services and time management
On top of all the standard services and demands of running an office, the doctors’ dilemma is time and how to charge for services. The previously mentioned science-based formulas have largely not made it to the clinical world because, in the past, it was challenging for any doctor, chiropractors included, to efficiently manage the high volume of patients and their individualized dietary needs.
All barriers to providing nutritional counseling steps for patients, including time, education, patient management and profitability, have improved dramatically in modern times by integrating the science of food-combining and technology to manage each person. Offering nutritional meal programs is now a time-efficient and profitable reality for clinicians if they utilize the proper technology system in the chiropractic office.
These technology systems will benefit and enhance any current procedures of lab testing and supplement protocols offered in your clinic. In every case the chiropractor who provides a clinical nutritional meal solution along with the current health services will get better results. Clinical meal and nutrition counseling is in demand for 70% of the entire population when you add up weight loss, type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and sports performance needs.
Technology can now use data analytics to provide a system for clinicians, integrating a medical-grade bioimpedance body composition measurement device, machine-learning automated coaching, and tracking each client’s food intake with a consumer food tracker app. All of these components integrate to efficiently and profitably manage hundreds of patients in a convenient clinical coaching portal.
The chiropractors who find and apply this technology system for nutritional counseling steps will be the cutting-edge health leaders in their profession and in their community. The modern technology management advances are very effective at managing weight loss and will attract a large existing clientele already looking for help. But those who offer nutritional meal education and management will also be attractive to those wanting to reverse diabetes, lower blood pressure, have more energy, sleep better, decrease pain, improve digestion, handle allergies and enhance brain health.
JEROME RERUCHA, DC, BS, CSCS, CHPS, is a practicing clinician, Owner of Brain/Body FIT® Clinical Performance Institute in White Plains, Ga. In practice he implements the chiropractic triad of health and elite strength and conditioning applications. He is constantly innovating natural health care methods. BBF Clinical Nutrition Solutions program is the most comprehensive exam and patient management system in the world for healthy eating. Integrating the BBF technology platform and the science of food combining gives the chiropractic profession the most significant advantage in nutritional healing, at the current time, for patients and athletes of all ages and at any level where winning matters. To learn more about the Brain/Body FIT® Clinical Nutrition Solutions program, go to BBFnutrition.com.
