Triple Omega Fatty Acids--Go Eat Some!

I often advise people to take a triple omega fatty acid supplement. Omega fatty acids are essential fatty acids—so called because we can’t make them, so we need to consume them. We can make other fatty acids by metabolizing our foods, but essential fatty acids come from a diet of healthy fish, vegetable oils, and flax seeds. You may have heard of eating fish oil for improved vascular health. Fish oil is one of the healthy omega fatty acids. There are three that you should be consuming regularly; omega 3,6, and 9 fatty acids. The number denotes where on the carbon chain the double bond exists in the structure of the molecule.

The potential benefits of consuming triple omega fatty acids range from cancer prevention to lowering the risk of a heart attack. These essential oils may help with depression, varicose vein symptoms, and digestive health. The benefit that most concerns me, as a chiropractor, is the role this supplement plays in the health of your nervous system. Triple omega fatty acids help form the insulating sheath called myelin, which protects and enables your nervous system. I first began taking the supplement during my pregnancy with my baby boy, to ensure that his brain and the rest of nervous system had the best tools possible to form and function optimally. I still take the supplement because I am breastfeeding, and because I can feel the benefits of better health in my own body.

Eating appropriate nutrients and taking appropriate supplements boils down to two things: giving your body the raw materials it needs to grow, heal, and protect you from invading micro critters, and giving your body these ingredients in the most usable form. Try to find vegetarian, or whole-food forms of your supplements. These products are derived from an actual, natural food. Synthetic supplements are often more difficult for your body to utilize, so you don’t get the full benefit of the supplement. In some cases, a simple shift in position of one part of the molecule makes the whole thing totally useless to your metabolism…so you have essentially thrown away your money on a product that is just passing through. Of course, getting your nutrients from a natural food source is best, but often we don’t know how nutritious modern food really is. Strip-mined tomatoes from Texas are missing more than just taste; many health benefits are lacking as well.

Adding one serving of healthy fish to your menu weekly, sprinkling in some flax seeds to your bread or cereal, and cooking with extra virgin olive oil are all ways to increase your essential fatty acid intake. If you are worried about heavy metal poisoning from eating more fish, take the fish oil supplement. Look into increasing your consumption of triple omega fatty acids; your eyes, heart, immune system, nervous system, circulatory system and good mood will all thank you.

Healthy Through the Holidays

‘Tis the season…for fighting off viruses and bacteria that thrive when the weather gets cooler and wetter! When avoiding getting sick, don’t try to disinfect everything; it’s almost impossible, and it results in the strongest, hard to kill strains surviving and multiplying. Instead of trying to attack everything in your environment, do what the medieval lords knew all about: make your castle stronger against the attack. Build up your walls and moats, and it won’t matter what is out there trying to get in. Here are some very simple tips that will help you get through this season’s icky symptoms.

Number one: Start taking some nutritional supplements. Take a vitamin C pill daily. If you feel under the weather, take several throughout the day, and add a zinc pill. Vitamin C is a vital component of your immune function. Also, vitamin C helps your body to flush, which is just what you need when you are in the process of a microscopic war on invaders. Ramp up your garlic intake. Crush fresh garlic cloves in everything but the morning cereal. Garlic is a natural antimicrobial agent. Drink lots-and lots-and lots of water. Flushing out toxins is very important.

Number two: Get exercise. Walk, go to an aerobics class, do whatever helps you work up a healthy sweat. Your immune system will get bulked up along with your muscles. If you do get a cold or the flu, don’t overdo the exercise. Gentle walking for a few minutes is the ticket to clear out your lungs, but don’t sap your energy.

Number three: Get sleep. This is the biggest problem for parents (take it from a new mom!), but getting to bed earlier will help your body recharge and keep your immune system at its best.

Number four: Get adjusted! Multiple lab studies show that immune cells flood the bloodstream after a chiropractic adjustment. Think of it as a body jump-start. Keeping your nervous system communicating clearly is the best way to keep your defenses strong.

Number five: Avoid sugar. This is hard around the holidays, but at least cut out sodas and candy as much as possible. Bacteria thrives on sugar in your body, and sugar also seriously inhibits your immune function.

Remember that the nasty symptoms are healthy. Your body flushes invading critters with snot, vomit, and other less than savory functions. When you take medicines to stop these symptoms, you are only prolonging the agony. Help your body do what it needs to, and you’ll get over your sickness much faster.