Finding the Missing Puzzle Pieces to Achieve Wellness: Balanced nutrition plays a critical role in wellness, says Dr. Jim Handzel

When undetected nutritional imbalance, allergies or toxicities are suppressing the body’s ability to restore wellness, a suboptimal health condition can many times defy treatment. Aside from accumulations of stressors such as food sensitivities, immune challenges, heavy metal toxicities, chemical toxicities and scars, our nervous system can be altered in how it responds to our life’s stimuli.

Nerves control all living cells, tissues and organs. In fact, our nervous system is comprised of the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (control and regulation) nervous systems that combined make up the autonomic nervous system.

Autonomic defined is “out of our control.” Our nervous system contracts muscles, beats the heart, regulates 600 hormones in the body, removes toxicities, processes foods through the stomach and intestines, and breathes oxygen in through the lungs and carbon dioxide out. Yet, we can think about breathing and change our respiratory rate or even hold our breath, but our autonomic nervous system will still kick in and override that to maintain an optimal state of wellness.

Utilizing the delicate autonomic nervous system is where Nutritional Response Testing picks up on subtle changes. Nutrition Response Testing, also known as functional medicine, designed clinical nutrition or applied kinesiology, is a precise, specific, non-invasive method of analyzing and correcting nutritional deficiencies and imbalances in the body.

In other words, Nutrition Response Testing is an advanced technique that allows doctors to zero in on exactly what organs are not functioning at 100 percent and contributing to chronic physical health challenges to address the nutritional and environmental factors that are suppressing the body’s ability to remain in balance.

Nutritional Response Testing also enables the doctor to identify the specific nutrients that have been missing to allow the body to heal itself, so that patients can live more productive and satisfying lives.

Dr. Jim Handzel focuses on chiropractic care and functional medicine at Mind, Body and Flow, in Chandler. For more information, call 480-782-6566 or visit MindBodyAndFlow.com.