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VALLEY — Local chiropractor Dr. Brenton Jones has some sound advice on staying in good health: take good care of yourself now or you may pay for it later.

The owner of West Point Family Chiropractic, Dr. Jones was the guest speaker for Wednesday’s noon hour meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Valley.

“Take care of yourself now, so it won’t bad for you later on,” he said. “If you protect and strengthen your immune system, you will be able to live life well and to be courageous in what you do.”

Understanding one’s body, he said, can come down to understanding its Goldilocks zone – what you do for it does not need to be too much or too little; it needs to be just right.

“If you go outside on a hot day like today you will sweat,” he said. “It’s your body’s way of being at or near its ideal temperature of 98.6 degrees. When you shiver when you are cold, the same thing is happening. Your body is attempting to maintain homeostasis.”

Over time, each person learns certain foods they need to consume sparingly or avoid altogether.

“You need to know the foods you are sensitive to,” he said. “Your body doesn’t like it for some reason.”

Jones encouraged club members to be mindful of their own Goldilocks zones.

“We have an immune system and a nervous system that keep us in that Goldilocks zone,” he said.

In healthy people, the nervous system is well equipped to fight off pathogens. The process becomes more complicated when someone eats something they are sensitive to.

Jones recommends coming up with a four-day rotation of one’s diet.

You need to figure out what you are sensitive to and act accordingly,” he said.

There’s something in each human cell called mitochondria. Collectively, the body’s mitochondria controls the energy level. There’s plenty of it in youth, but it tends to diminish with age.

“God gave us an immune system that will fight well for us if we protect it,” Jones said. Supplements such as multivitamins can help.

Jones is a firm believer in the combination of vitamins D3 and K. When taken together, he said, they conduct calcium into the bone structure. He said fish oil can be good in keeping down inflammation, something that can happen because of lifestyle and what one eats.

Jones urges everyone to understand the importance of having a healthy immune system and to keep it that way. With a weakened immune system, it’s possible to die of something as common as a cold.

He also said it’s a good practice to keep the organs healthy. There are safe, simple ways they can be detoxed from time to time, he said.

While chiropractors are often thought of as specialists in relieving neck and back pain, Jones said it’s more than that.

“My job is to teach you and lead you to good health care,” he said.