Did you know that aside from physical benefits, massage therapy also provides numerous mental and emotional benefits?

Massage therapy, broadly defined, is the manual manipulation of muscles and certain other soft tissues in the body, including connective tissue, ligaments, and tendons, with the purpose of improving a person’s health and well-being. Licensed massage therapists are highly-trained and well-versed in anatomy and physiology, and they use their expertise to improve wellness in a variety of ways.

Let’s take a look at some of the practical mental benefits that come from participating in massage therapy.

As part of National Chiropractic Health Month this October, the American Chiropractic Association has stressed the importance of movement.

Movement and exercise have a great number of health benefits. A new study this month suggests that forgoing exercise may even be worse for you than smoking and diabetes. 

Not only can exercise improve your health and prevent a wide range of health concerns, it is also recommended to treat certain health ailments like depression, diabetes, and heart disease. In 2017, The American College of Physicians also recommended exercise to help treat low back pain as the first line of treatment before resorting to pain medication.

Exercises don’t need to be time consuming in order to make a difference. Here are some quick and easy exercises that you can perform on a daily basis to improve your overall health.

If you’re looking for natural ways to keep your children in optimal health, come visit us! National University of Health Sciences is hosting the Second Annual Healthy Kids Open House on October 20, 2018 from 12 p.m to 4 p.m. at our Illinois campus located at 200 E. Roosevelt Road in Lombard.

At this fit, fun and free event, our clinicians and interns will be on hand to host activities, talks and demonstrations for both children and adults to enjoy. This year’s event will feature new lecture topics along with last year’s popular activities.

At one point or another, stress affects everyone. And if you’re a working professional trying to balance your career and your personal life, you are even more likely to feel pressure and stress. Luckily, there are effective and natural measures you can take to ease the stress you’re experiencing.

Read on to uncover how complementary and alternative medicine can help relieve your stress!

Many celebrities including Halle Barry and Gwyneth Paltrow have been touting the weight loss benefits of the Ketogenic diet. But before celebrities began using the diet for weight loss, did you know it was first recommended for those with certain health conditions?

Originally created to help people with seizure disorders, the Keto diet can also benefit patients with pre-diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes. Some studies suggest the diet may be able to help those with mental disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease, autism, bipolar disorder and depression, as well. 

The diet is very high fat (70-80 percent of daily total calories), low to moderate protein and very low carbohydrates (usually less than 5 percent of total calories). Because of the very low carbohydrate and very high fat content, the Keto diet changes what fuel your body runs on. Instead of glucose (a sugar), ketone bodies derived from fat become your body’s energy source. This process helps to stabilize blood sugar and decrease appetite allowing for more efficient weight loss.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight or you’re trying the diet for other health reasons, here are some tips that can help ensure you are successful with the Keto diet.

Celebrity suicides from Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain to Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington are bringing to light the increasing prevalence of depression. Despite the stigma, more celebrities like Lady Gaga and Jim Carrey are speaking out. Mental health issues are not limited to celebrities, however. They are actually much more widespread than many may think.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), antidepressant use has risen by 65% between 1999 and 2014. A 2017 study also shows depression increased “significantly” among persons in the U.S. from 2005 to 2015, from 6.6% to 7.3%.

Research tells us that one of the biggest triggers for depression is chronic stress both from physical health issues such as chronic pain and psychosocial issues. So it is no surprise that with the economic and social stressors during the last 10 years that rates of depression would be on the rise.

Alongside pharmaceuticals, utilizing various types of treatment modalities including complementary and alternative medicine techniques often can lead to better outcomes than single modality interventions. These techniques may also help those who might want to rely less on pharmaceuticals in the long term.

Getting older doesn’t have to mean bad news for your brain. Although many are worried about mental decline and diseases like dementia, following the principles of naturopathic medicine can provide natural, non-invasive approaches to keep your brain sharp.

Whether you’re worried about cognitive aging or just looking to boost your brain power, the 7 daily habits listed below can help you maintain a stronger, healthier brain.

Today’s young athletes work harder, longer hours, and push through injury more than ever before.

Traveling sports start at a younger age, which usually means more practices per week and tournaments multiple weekends per month. Tee ball starts by age 4. Travel baseball and football begins by age 8. Kids committing to one sport, also called specializing, is seen by middle school.

Seasonal allergies affect millions of Americans. While the exact causes of allergy symptoms remains uncertain, most agree that allergy symptoms are due to inflammation after the immune system pathways encounter allergenic materials in the environment. These allergenic materials are often from plant pollens, animal dander, insect venom, or certain foods.

Aside from taking over-the-counter and prescription medication, here are several natural approaches that can improve your allergy symptoms this season. 

Although definitions may vary slightly, what many can agree on as “fad diets” are when an individual nutritionally adheres to a set diet in order to lose weight in a brief period of time. This said diet usually lacks overall sustainability, long term health benefits, or focuses on any other aspect of health promotion like exercise. Food movements on the other hand take into consideration research and apply the principles to everyday life, making a sustainable change or changes for the betterment of life and health. The short term goals of both might be to lose weight, but the long term goal of a food movement is to create a healthy lifestyle.