Dr. Alexia Inhulsen started her Wellness Center in 2010, and at the time, her space was a single-room office. Her initial patient was an employee at the practice, who was pregnant and experiencing discomfort. Balancing delicacy for her patient and a desire to provide pain relief, Dr. Alexia successfully gave an adjustment that sent the mother-to-be to her birth class with the urgings that everyone receives chiropractic care. Dr. Alexia’s success with her early patients cemented her interest in maternal and child care. While Peake Wellness’s primary focus is on pregnant women and postpartum mothers with their children, they also treat men and couples working on fertility.
As complex as chiropractic care and anatomy is, Dr. Alexia finds joy in the straightforward problem-solving of caring for kids. She says, “You either helped them with their ear infections, bed wetting, behavior issues, etc. or you didn’t!” Beyond adjustments, she likes teaching her patients about the links between their nervous system, their bones and muscles, and their overall health. Chiropractic care can help the whole body, not merely alleviate the pain that brought you into the office that particular day. Peake Wellness also takes an active role in its community. They hold events throughout the year to support and educate parents.
Dr. Alexia has also shared some tips for transitioning babies from smooth to solid foods. Her first step is to wait until babies can sit up on their own and until their tongue thrust is gone. This step, often skipped in American families, indicates that an infant’s digestive system is ready for solid foods. In terms of types of food, Dr. Alexia also recommends vegetables—one at a time—instead of fruit. Though fruit is sweeter, it can condition children to need that sweetness, whereas vegetables will acclimate their palates to healthy foods without requiring sugar. In her opinion, peas and green beans are “sweet enough and interesting enough already,” and they don’t require fruit additives like bananas. If you’re buying food for your child, make sure you 1) try it first and 2) check that there are as few added sweeteners (fruit or sugar) as possible. If you’re making your own food, make sure to block out enough time each week to prepare your vegetables. One of the other enjoyable aspects of the transition time, according to Dr. Alexia, is the faces kids make when they try new foods. It’s a time of experimentation as parents figure out what their children do and don’t prefer.
Three of Dr. Alexia’s favorite juicing recipes are the Basic, the Sunny, and the Green Machine—each of which has only 3 three ingredients! The Basic includes 8 carrots, 2 green apples, and a squirt of lemon; the Sunny contains ½ a pineapple, 2 yellow peppers, and the juice from half a lemon; while the Green Machine has 1 cucumber, 2 green apples, and a few leaves of kale or spinach. Her recommended appliance is a masticating juicer, which makes concoctions that will last 24 hours. If you don’t have access to one of those, though, a centrifuge juicer will make drinks that last 20 minutes before oxidizing.
Whether you’re a couple seeking fertility counseling, a parent-to-be, a new mother, a single father, or someone with pain you can’t quite shake—trust Dr. Alexia to make you well again. Her knowledge base covers anatomy, nutrition, pregnancy, and post-birth care, and the best juices you or your child will ever drink! Add a stop to Peake Wellness to your New Year’s Resolution. If you want to create the best version of yourself for 2023, your surest path to success is prioritizing your health so that you can show up in all other areas of your life.