Choosing between good health and great wealth is usually a simple answer. Most people would pick good health. However when asked to define “health,” many would have trouble putting into words what this concept means to us. For some of us health might mean lack of illness, disease and pain. Sometimes to some health means being symptom free. For other individuals good health might mean a greater positive state of being, including strong bones, good posture, white teeth, great body and eyes, strong muscles, appropriate weight, and much more.

One thing we all agree on is we want good health. But this goal may be difficult to reach with a health system focused primarily on treatment, rather than prevention of illness and disease. Though we have extensive research about the illnesses of the body and treatment of symptoms, what have we studied about creating wellness within the body to prevent health problems before they happen?

For example in regards to heart patients, heart bypasses and angioplasty do not address the underlying cause of the heart problem. Many surgeries merely treat the existing problem, which sometimes returns if the patient doesn’t also make a lifestyle change. When patients make comprehensive lifestyle changes consistent with a healthy heart and overall wellness, most patients have a good chance of improving. This reality is being proven through research time and time again.

Many times someone is hospitalized with an end-stage illness that has taken years to develop. During previous years the person has eaten sweets, salami, french fries and ice cream every day. Someone may ask, “What’s wrong with me, Doc?” The doctor replies, “I don’t know, we’ll have to run more exams.”

The reality is that we can look at the whole person and his or her lifestyle over the years, and the illness will be written all over the body. Wouldn’t it make more sense to study what causes the body to be healthy? Unfortunately, only 20 percent of today’s research is spent on preventative health care. Part of the problem might be that it is harder to study prevention than it is to study treatment for illness and disease.

Some researchers examining the factors that help keep the body healthy are becoming increasingly certain of the significance of the mind/body connection as a critical component in health care. This factor is an important reason many people are turning to chiropractic health care by chiropractors as part of their health building strategies.

Chiropractic care works directly with the mind/body connection for health. The brain contains all the information to run the body correctly. The nervous system is a channel of communication from the brain to each tissue cell in the body. We all understand the function of the skull in protecting the brain. In similar fashion, the spinal column houses and protects the nervous system.

We understand brain functions can be affected unless we keep it safe and free from serious trauma. The same is true for the spine and proper nervous system function. When the spine is traumatized and the spinal cord becomes severed, the body can become paralyzed because the brain can no longer communicate with the rest of the body. This principle also applies when trauma to the spine is on a smaller scale, resulting in misalignment of spinal bones and pressure on nerve function. Spinal misalignment results in a partial communication breakdown, leading to an incomplete connection between mind and body. When this happens, the body loses much of its ability to maintain health.

In addition, lifestyle factors are important in building optimal health. Most of us understand that we need proper rest, proper nutrition, exercise and a positive mental attitude. Unfortunately we may not fully understand the importance of a properly functioning nervous system and spinal column. Building health from within the body is the ultimate path we all must discover for ourselves. It is not something a doctor can give us especially when they are focusing on disease. It is something we give ourselves because healing and health are natural states, and we have the power to control our decisions regardless of the rest.

The developer of chiropractic BJ Palmer once said, “In the future, chiropractic will be valued for its preventative qualities as much as for relieving and adjusting the cause of many ailments.” The future is now because chiropractic care is no longer alternative but the mainstream choice of millions who have turned to chiropractic for natural health and wellness care. Many chiropractic doctors including the chiropractors at New Century Spine Centers in San Diego are now covered by many insurance companies.

Doctors of chiropractic are committed to educating their patients about healthy lifestyle and their patients express appreciation for it. We need to be involved with our health by asking questions and beginning our own quest to discover just what “good health” is, and how it can be obtained.

Want to find out more about alternative health, then visit New Century Spine Centers to find more information about chiropractic care for your needs.