Family & Turkey & Football… Oh My!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I don’t know about you, but this usually involves reflecting on the year, family time, eating yummy food, and watching football. 

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on what we’re thankful for which is super important especially after everything 2020 has thrown at us. This year I am very thankful to have moved my practice to the NorthWoods of Wisconsin. Every summer since I was a little kid, I found myself coming up to Lando to visit more and more weekends. The past couple years I have been even more touristy and come up in the winter to go snowmobiling. It’s been my dream to eventually move to the area full time and it became a reality much sooner than I thought it would. I can’t believe how welcoming the community has been which is very refreshing compared to the suburbs of Chicago. I’m excited to be working with all of the horses in the area and to be able to help everyone with their aches and pains this winter. I’m going to be honest, I am a little nervous for the long winter--- if you have any advice about how to get through it, feel free to give me a call or drop me an email.  

I hope that you all find a way to still be with your family in whatever way possible. As for the yummy food, here are some tips to enjoy Thanksgiving but not overindulge. I recommend trying to snack on some healthy snacks before going in for all the dinner favorites. Go for the fruit and veggie tray first and try to fill up on that and then snack on the other goodies. Make sure you stay hydrated during the day by drinking some water. Oftentimes, we think we’re hungry when in reality our body is really craving some water. The human body is 60% water! (About 75% of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration.) So make it a goal to drink enough water for the rest of 2020 and onward. Remember, don’t eat too fast and try to pace yourself at dinner-- it takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it’s full. So take your time with the turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing- enjoy your company and enjoy your day. Try to have one or two small pieces of dessert. During the holiday season, we tend to be eating more cookies, candy, pies, and sugary treats. While they taste great, sugar has been found to tank the immune system. I’m not going to be a grinch and say stop eating sugar entirely, but moderation is best here.  As I’m writing this, the weather is gorgeous-- I’m sure it won’t be this warm in a couple weeks. But, depending on what the weather looks like on Thanksgiving, try to take a walk after dinner. This will help your food digest and give you some time to enjoy the fresh air. 

I don’t know about you but watching football is another family tradition of mine. Trivia question of the day: How many NFL teams have a Doctor of Chiropractic on staff? 

If you said all 32 teams, ding ding ding, you’re right! 

I know what you’re thinking- haven’t all the teams always had a chiropractor on staff? The answer is no. As of 2002 only 33% of the NFL teams had a chiropractor on staff. As the number of concussions have increased, length of careers has increased, the desire to lessen time away because of an injury, and the desire to PREVENT injuries has increased— so has the desire for Chiropractic care. The average professional football chiropractor delivers 30-50 adjustments per week in the regular season. To put this into perspective, each NFL team is allowed to have 53 players on its roster.Chiropractic care in the NFL is used both to help rehabilitate injuries but also to help prevent injuries. Many football players have commented that chiropractic care has helped tremendously with their neck and low back pain as well as rehabbing shoulder and knee injuries. Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers’ dad is actually a chiropractor so Aaron has been getting adjusted since he was a kid. He has talked about how chiropractic and living a healthy lifestyle in general has kept him in good shape both on and off the field. 

I wish you a very happy thanksgiving full of food, fun, laughter, family, and football. I also want to say that I’m very thankful to the Land O’ Lakes and surrounding towns’ warm welcomes to myself and my wife and we look forward to helping the whole community for many years to come. 



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