Did you know that chiropractic care can help normalize cholesterol levels? To be clear, chiropractic care is not a "treatment" for high cholesterol, however, improvement in blood cholesterol levels is possible as a result of reducing nervous system stress through chiropractic adjustments. That is to say: healthier cholesterol can happen as a positive "side effect" of chiropractic care, when our focus is on correcting spinal misalignments and reducing neural tension.
A recent study was published in the journal Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, which demonstrated a case of normalization of blood lipid levels in a 63-year old female patient following regular chiropractic care. "Her baseline lipid panel indicated abnormal levels in each category: total cholesterol 287 mg/dL, LDL 199 mg/dL, HDL 33 mg/dL, and Triglycerides 273 mg/dL... Ten weeks into care, a second lipid panel was drawn revealing a normalization of all levels. Total cholesterol dropped to 147 mg/dL, LDL lowered to 84 mg/dL, HDL raised to 49 mg/dL, and triglycerides lowered to 68 mg/dL." The article suggests that chiropractic care reduced nervous system tension, which allowed for a reduction of the inflammatory processes that led to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in the case study patient.
It's interesting that most people start seeing chiropractors for back pain, neck pain, and headaches, and yet we often see things like cholesterol, blood pressure, allergies, and other chronic issues improve, too - things people didn't know could get better with chiropractic care. This happens because our focus is on optimizing the nervous system - the master control system of the body - practically all the other systems and functions of the body start to work better as a downstream effect.
As I've mentioned in previous articles, diet/nutrition, and exercise are also crucial elements of health which influence things like cholesterol levels, but without addressing whole-body nervous system function with chiropractic care, we may be limiting the potential for our bodies to heal. Regular chiropractic care in conjunction with good diet, nutrition, exercise, and stress management is a recipe for reaching our body's greatest potential for optimal health.
Reference:
Adams, J., & Gee, K. L. (2023). Reduction of Cholesterol in a Patient with Dyslipidemia Undergoing Chiropractic Care: A Case Study & Review of the Literature. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research, 2023, 111-119.
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