Fish Oil vs Krill Oil

I was told by my vendors that KRILL oil is "3x better than fish oil" …I think a reality check is in order.

I have been teaching classes on Omega fatty acids for over 10 years. The marine source oils are without question beneficial. EFAs have two principal roles.

1- EFAs provide flexibility and stability to the cell membrane. All living organisms must be able to transport nutrients into and out of the cell. This biochemical processes is the key to life. TOXINS must be moved out and foods need to be moved in. If the cell wall is too thick, fat or inflexible then the cell will begin to die.

2- The second big role for PAIN and INFLAMATION EFAs are a precursor for prostaglandins, local tissue hormones that control various functions including blood clotting, repair.

As you see we take fish oil because it is the primary source of nutrients that help the body MANUFACTURE chemical precursors. They are named essential because we can’t live with out them.

Krill oil is now marketed as "1 krill oil capsule=3 fish oil capsules," DEAD wrong. While Krill does have some EPA and DHA, by volume it is very low.

In one 1,000 mg. capsule of krill oil only has a total 300 mg. omega-3 fatty acids! And the important reason to take fish oil which is the EPA and DHA, KRILL has barely 150 mg. EPA and measly 90 mg. of DHA.

Patient who are at risk for heart problems, or who have advanced joint arthritis should be considering taking at least 3 to 5000 mg Daily of EFAs and the amount of EPA in this dose should be about 1600 mg the amount of DHA should be around 1400

In populations of humans where quality of life improved quickly, our human ancestors ate primarily marine source proteins. *Humans did not eat Krill. *It has barely been studied in humans. *drdavesbest.com

For your Heart on Saint Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Ok so the Segue to the heart and blood pressure may be a bit of a stretch, but here you go.

Hypertension tension, or high blood pressure, is dangerous because it can lead to strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, or kidney disease. The goal of Hypertension treatment is to lower high blood pressure and protect important organs, like the brain, heart, and kidneys from damage.

High blood pressure is classified as:

Normal blood pressure: less than 120/80 mmHg

Prehypertension: 120-139/80-89 mmHg

Hypertension: greater than 140/90 mmHg

Stage 1 Hypertension: 140-159/90-99 mmHg

Stage 2 Hypertension: 160 or greater/ 100 or greater mmHg

*For blood pressure over 140/90 mmHg seek immediate qualified medical advice. Treating Stage 1 hypertension involves lifestyle changes noted below AND possibly drug therapy.

Natural ways to keep healthy blood pressure include:

You should consider lifestyle modifications. You should do some type of enjoyable low impact exercise. This should be done for ONE hour, FIVE days a week.

Eating healthier should be an obvious approach. From my clinical experience eating “healthy” is not enough. The foods we have to choose from in our country are tainted. Patients who are considered “at Risk” should supplement with 3 to 5 grams of highly distilled EPA/DHA Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s). There are hundreds of solid studies showing the health benefits of EFA’s from marine sources are effective in promoting good cardio vascular health. Other health benefits include decreased pain, decreased inflammation of nerves, brain and bowels.

Acupuncture provides an excellent complement to other treatments. Specifically, when a needle is inserted at certain points on the wrist, forearm and legs, by doing this, opioid chemicals are released this will reduce excitatory responses in the cardiovascular system. The result, a decrease in blood pressure and improvement of heart-related conditions.

Adequate amounts of sunlight, several studies on UV rays (sunshine) have been shown to improve the production of Vitamin D, This improves the system of chemicals in the blood and brain that slows the production of renin-angiotensin. This chemical is one more way the body regulates blood pressure, blood volume as well as electrolyte homeostasis. Vitamin D is a monitor of cell ageing, as a cell is ending its useful life, Vitamin D causes cell apoptosis (cell death), if this action is not done cells would grow out of control. This cellular overgrowth is a form of cancer.

L-Arginine is a supplement that in many cases may work best at a higher dosage level. This is because the liver and intestines break down a good part of the amino acid before it is absorbed by the vessels in the rest of the body. The higher dosage levels (sometimes up to 20 grams) will in most cases ensure that the benefits of L-Arginine reach the vessels throughout the entire body. For those who are considering taking L-Arginine as a supplement that they hope will provide some relief to symptoms of heart disease, the potential for side effects is generally not high enough to justify compromising the potential for relief from their discomfort. Although producers of L-Arginine do not make the claim that L-Arginine provides a cure of any kind, there are many pieces of research that strongly support the possibility that L-Arginine prevents the onset or rapid progression of a variety of heart related ailments by keeping the blood vessels and arteries clear from obstruction and allowing the heart to work with less resistance. Heart health is a concern for many Americans as heart disease claims more lives every year than any other disease. Take the time to consider if L-Arginine can help you to live a more fulfilling lifestyle. Talk about any concern that you may have about this supplement with your physician. You may find that you've been missing out on this opportunity to improve the health of your heart.
www.thespineline.com

Chronic pain and your foods.

by Dr. David Thomson

Omega-6 oils increase Pain and Inflammation. Omega 6 oils increases the risk of developing dementia, alzheimer's and memory problems. The problem is that Omega 6 oils are in almost everything. Things that contain Omega 6 oils are so common that it is often difficult to eat most prepared foods without getting 10 times the recommended daily dose of this very caustic oil. Foods that contain this type of fatty acid are: Most cold cereals, breads, most boxed and packaged foods. It is also in many replacements for butter in the non-dairy spreads

Think of it this way Omega 6 oils are very stable and keep food from going bad or losing that soft “twinkie” feel. Breads would quickly harden if not for omega 6 oils. Bagels and pastries would also lose the fresh baked feel in a matter of days if not for this long chain fatty acid. For this reason food producers love to use this very cheep oil for food production because it maintains the illusion of freshness!

In today’s era of easy to get information, I am very surprised by how many of my patients still come to me and complain of chronic pain in the shoulders, hips, knees and spines. Many patients simply do not associate the fact that the foods they eat responsible for chronic pain, many times it is as harmful as the initial insult or injury.

When treating patients with long term chronic pain the first thing I do is evaluate the diet for the ratio of omega-6 oils to the omega-3 oils it should be in a (1:1)one to one ratio, amazingly in the patients with chronic pain the ratio is over (40 to 1). That’s 39 % more of the caustic pain causing omega-6 that is recommend.

If you have unresolved pain that does not seem to respond to conventional therapy consult your Chiropractor for safe practical ways to increase the Omega-3’s in your diet.