March 2018

April 28th: 10 Year Anniversary Appreciation Party

Thrive Chiropractic is celebrating our 10th year and we want to thank you all!  Join us on April 28th from 12-5 PM for our Patient Appreciation 10 Year Anniversary Party. 

We will have food, drinks, raffles, prizes, and a bounce house for kids. Even better, we are planning a fantastic lineup of ‘presenters’. Presenters will be many of our recommended friends and people in a variety of health fields like nutrition, fitness, yoga, meditation, bodywork, pregnancy and pediatric care, and more! There will a schedule of quick 20 minute segments with presenters so you can know when to stop by to learn more about things that interest you.

Save the date! More information will come soon: on our blog, on Facebook, in the office, and in the April Newsletter. We have great appreciation for all of you and look forward to celebrating.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Class
 

On March 27th from 6:30-8:00 PM, Life Coach Mark Levine, LIDC-CS, MAC will offer an Introduction to  Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Class at Thrive.  Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teaches you how to reduce stress, increase emotional resilience, increase productivity, prevent addiction relapse and help you find peace during tough emotional times. 

The cost of the class is $10 and you register here: Class Registration. 

For more information about Mark or to ask any questions, check out his website Minds at Peace. 
 

Intermittent Fasting: What have you heard?

Fasting is not a new health promotion technique, but you may have heard more about it lately. This 3-minute video gives a nice summary.

I have incorporated intermittent fasting into my routine about 3 days per week over the last 6 months. One of the main reasons I decided to begin intermittent fasting is that fasting allows your body to initiate a process of autophagy, a sort of cellular clean up. I also hoped to see a boost in my immune system. 

I’ve been pleased with how my body feels with intermittent fasting. Energy, sleep, exercise, concentration and immune response has been favorable. You can read more about intermittent fasting from my colleague Dr. Jockers here.
 

Omega 3 Fats: A Powerful Nutrient in Your Diet

There is no substitute and no supplement that can ‘make up’ for a healthy diet. 

With that said, I strongly believe there are some key nutrients that can elevate your health and are worth supplementing. Omega 3 is certainly one of them. Consider these facts (cited from Innate Choice):

• Dietary sufficiency of EPA/DHA Omega-3 fatty acids is essential for the proper function of every cell, tissue, organ, and gland in the brain and body.
• Just as with vitamins and minerals, your brain and body cannot make EPA/DHA Omega-3 fatty acids so they must beconsumed in the diet.
• For these reasons scientists refer to EPA/DHA Omega-3 fatty acids as ESSENTIAL fatty acids (E.F.A.s). They are absolutely essential for proper cell function and for health and they MUST be consumed in the diet.
• The Western diet is dangerously deficient in EPA/DHA Omega-3 fatty acids. It is an incontrovertible scientific fact that thefoods we eat today do not contain anything close to sufficient amounts of EPA and DHA.
• Traditionally humans consumed sufficient amounts of EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids by eating wild game meat and wild fish.
• EPA and DHA are NOT found in grain fed domesticated animals such as cows, pigs, lambs, chickens, and turkeys.
• Farmed fish does NOT contain sufficient amounts of EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids. Although wild fish does contain sufficient amounts of EPA and DHA, virtually all sources are now so toxic with mercury, dioxins, and other pollutants that they are not safe to consume in sufficient amounts.
• Vegetable sources of Omega-3 fatty acids like flax seed DO NOT contain EPA or DHA. Furthermore, research indicatesthat humans cannot convert vegetable sources to EPA and DHA in sufficient amounts.
• Humans are genetically designed to consume EPA and DHA directly, not to convert them from vegetable sources.
• EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids are so important because they are the main component of the brain neurons and all cell membranes. This is why DHA is the main component of healthy human breast milk.
• Deficiency in EPA/DHA Omega-3 fatty acids is implicated as acausal factor in virtually all the common illnesses and causesof disease related death in the Western world.
• EPA and DHA deficiency in infants and children has been shown to be a causal factor in development, learning, and behaviour problems such as ADHD as well as vision, digestive and skin disorders.
• EPA and DHA deficiency in teens and adults has been shownto be a causal factor in breast, colon, and prostate cancers, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression, skin disorders, digestive disorders, chronic pain, vision problems, hormonal problems,and pregnancy complications including improper fetal development, premature birth and postpartum depression.
• EPA and DHA deficiency in the elderly has been shown to be a causal factor in diabetes, high blood pressure, mood disorders, osteoporosis, arthritis and Alzheimer’s.

Furthermore, here are key points from: “Global Survey of the Omega-3 Fatty Acid’s, Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid in the Blood Stream of Healthy Adults”

• “Fish oil supplementation established a link between EPA + DHA intake and reduced risk of coronary heart disease mortality with a major proposed mechanism of a reduction in fatal arrhythmia’s and sudden cardiac death”
• Omega-3 LCPUFA have numerous physiological effects that have been confirmed by meta-analyses including
  • Reducing Resting Heart Rate
  • Influencing heart rate variability
  • Reduced blood pressure
  • Reduced blood triglycerides
  • Reduced thrombosis
• “EPA and DHA are important for cognitive function throughout the lifespan”
• “It is also highly likely that increased blood levels of EPA + DHA across the globe would reduce the risk of cognitive decline with normal aging

We offer the following oils for sale in the office:
Nordic Natural Arctic Cod Liver Oil– $47 for 16 ounce bottle
Omega Sufficiency– Available in liquid or capsules- $45 
 

Cold Showers Can Lead to Less Sick Days. 

In ancient times doctors prescribed cold baths for their patients.  Modern day athletes take ice baths to reduced swelling and help shorten healing time for injuries.Now a new study from the Netherlands shows that even a short exposure to cold water during a shower can improve health.

In a study of 3,000 people, half were asked to shower as normal for 30 consecutive days. The other participants were instructed to add a 30-90 second blast of cold water to the end of their shower. After the 30 days, researchers found that those who included a cold burst at the end of their shower had 29% fewer sick days than those who took a normal shower. After the study 91% of the cold shower participants said they would continue to add a cold blast at the end of their shower and two-thirds of those people actually did. 

There still needs to be further research on why cold showers benefit the immune system but head researcher Dr. Buijze says cold showers trigger a response to help keep the body warm. This leads to activating “brown fat” which burns calories and may increase energy. 

The study shows that cold showers do not need to be long and uncomfortable to benefit health.  There was no added benefit to some who added 90 seconds of cold water to their shower versus someone who added 30 seconds.  

Recipe of the Month: Sunshine Soup

As March beings by roaring like a lion, this Carrot and Tarragon Sunshine Soup is a good reminder that the warmth of spring is just around the bend. It’s a delicious vegetarian dish with a sunny citrus kick! Of course, you can use a chicken, beef, or vegetable broth.