Omega-3 Fatty Acids

FEELING FINE WITH DR. FAVREAU
Omega – 3 fatty acids, essential fatty acids or fish oil, tend to be recognized by the average person these days, but a thorough understanding of the meaning and/or the importance of consuming it is often lacking. Follow along with this article to learn how wonderfully healthy you can be when you incorporate the proper amount of omega – 3 fatty acids into your daily routine.
The name of this essential fatty acid comes from its specific molecular structure and it is classified as “essential” because it is a whole food derivative that cannot be made by the body independently. Therefore, it is essential that it is included in the diet in one form or another otherwise the body is deprived of this critical substance.
Why is it so critical? It is quite simple actually, approximately 60 percent of your brain is comprised of omega-3 fatty acids and it also covers the nerves in our body that are responsible for initiating movement. The role of this fat along these particular nerves is to accelerate the nerve impulse so there is virtually no delay between deciding to move and the actual movement itself. An example of a deficiency in the fat along these nerves is a well known disease process called Multiple Sclerosis where we find sclerotic erosions along the nerve tissue in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
If you are someone who is suffering from heart disease or have a family history of heart disease and would like to prevent it, then you should pay attention to what follows. Omega – 3 fatty acids work as a blood thinner and it also helps to balance your ratio of fats in a positive direction. According to a study by the Gissi Group out of Italy, 11,000 patients were given one gram of fish oil per day after they had already suffered a heart attack. Upon a three year follow up after continuous consumption of fish oil, the study concluded that there was a reduction of the number of deaths by 20 percent and the number of sudden deaths by 40 percent…Wow!
Another significant benefit to taking fish oil is for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Without getting too technical, the way that fish oil intervenes in the production of inflammation is by limiting certain biochemical reactions in the body that produce undesirable products such as prostaglandins. The amazing thing about it is that there are NO SIDE EFFECTS as compared to taking ibuprofen which taxes your liver and other vital organs.
In an effort to keep this article relatively short, here is a list of other conditions that are commonly helped by taking fish oil: Postpartum depression, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Depression, Headaches, Musculo-Skeletal Pain, Arthritis, Eczema, Dry skin, etc…
Are you ready to implement omega – 3’s into your daily routine yet? If so, I recommend following the guidelines provided below.
Prevention: 3-5g/day Heart Disease: 3-5g/day
MS/Alzheimer’s: 7-10g/day Children: 1-3g/day
*Contact your physician prior to taking fish oil if you are currently taking any blood thinning prescription drugs.

Posture and Overall Health

The importance of posture is often overlooked and forgotten about in today’s society. Perhaps we all grew so tired of hearing our parents or grandparents lecture us about sitting up straight when we were young, that we purposely chose to be lazy with our posture whenever possible. Whatever the case may be, it is critical that we recognize the importance of healthy posture and the role it plays in our overall health.
As a chiropractor, I often treat people who sit throughout their day while at work and then frequently complain about having things like headaches, neck pain, upper back pain and sometimes even arm pain. Is it a coincidence that these people typically have similar symptoms to one another? No, and here is why. When a person predominantly sits throughout their day they usually are performing some type of task that requires them to consistently look down. As a result of looking down for many hours each day the head comes forward in relation to the neck and shoulders and therefore adds stress and inflammation on the muscles and nerves. This stress and inflammation can cause some discomfort to the person on a short term scale, but the long term contribution to such things as arthritis, heart disease, and overall health is alarming. As a result of being slumped forward from sitting too much we decrease our ability to breathe properly, which taxes the cardiovascular system and has an impact on every single cell in our body. According to 1980 Nobel Prize winner Roger Sperry, PhD., “The more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy available for thinking, metabolism and healing.”
In helping someone overcome a postural problem, I begin by demonstrating to them where they are versus where they are designed to be and then I teach them strategies to re-train their bodies to habitually hold a more upright position. For the person who is looking down all day while sitting, as described above, they will need to actively participate in exercises and stretches that bring the head back and decrease the rounding of the mid back so that the ears are over the shoulders. This, in conjunction with manual spinal adjustments and specific postural adjustments, is a part of the rehabilitation necessary to overcome this type of problem and to lead a healthier life.
Dr. Justin Favreau is a 2005 graduate of Life Chiropractic College West and a certified fellow of Clinical Biomechanics of Posture (CBP), the most researched technique in the chiropractic profession. He can be reached at 206.726.9595, or via email: dr.justinj@gmail.com

The Buzz on Arthritis

Contrary to popular belief, we are not destined to be stiff, sore and ridden with arthritis as we age. In fact, if you are currently stiff and sore there are many ways to manage arthritis without relying on pharmaceutical drugs that tax your vital organs. Before we talk about how to prevent or manage it, let’s first define arthritis.
Arthritis is defined as inflammation (-itis) of the joints (articulations). The result of this inflammation over a period of years is osteoarthritis where the body begins to calcify the joints that are inflamed leading to bone spurs and thinning discs. This calcification that occurs is the result of improper alignment of the joints creating a stabilization response by the body. There is a very important fact that must be discussed before a true understanding of arthritis can occur, and that is called Wolff’s Law. This law states that bone will remodel to stress or the force applied to it in order to become stronger. Therefore, osteoarthritis develops as a result of abnormal stress and force being placed on the joints from things like trauma, but especially from the repetitive stress that occurs from having poor posture over a long period of time.
So now that we have defined arthritis, let’s talk about how to prevent it. The most important thing that you can do is to have your spine examined and adjusted by a chiropractor routinely, similarly to having your teeth cleaned. This is critical in preventing arthritis because as you acquire poor postural habits you lose the proper structure and motion of your spine and the joints become irritated and inflamed. This may or may not cause pain right away, but either way it needs to be corrected as soon as possible in order to prevent chronic joint dysfunction, pain and ultimately arthritis.
The successful management of arthritis requires a mild to moderate level of commitment and a willingness to change from the individual because there are some critical anti-inflammation strategies that must be adopted such as:
*Drinking lots of water
*Avoiding trans fats (deep fried foods, partially hydrogenated oils)
*Avoiding artificial sweeteners and food additives (i.e. aspartame, MSG, etc…)
*Avoiding high fructose corn syrup
*Supplementing 3,000-5,000mg of Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)
*Supplementing a multi-vitamin that includes: A, C, E, B6, B12, Folic Acid and Selenium
*Supplementing glucosamine and chondroitin
*Eating 5-9 servings of organic fruits and vegetables per day
*Breathing deeply 15-20 times, 4 times per day
*Exercising 3-4 times per week for 20-30 minutes (i.e. a brisk walk)
*Chiropractic adjustments to correct posture and improve range of motion
I hope you take this information and utilize it to effectively prevent or manage arthritis so that your life is full of healthy, pain free motion. I invite all of you to call or email me with any questions about arthritis or general health, and feel free to attend my Optimal Health workshop that is offered the first and third Monday of every month at 6:30 pm in the office lobby.

Dr. Favreau maintains his practice alongside VanQuaethem Chiropractic in the Madison Park neighborhood of Seattle. The office address is:
4105 E. Madison St., Ste. 2
Seattle, WA 98112
206.726.9595
dr.justinj@gmail.com