If You're Taking Fish Oil - Make Sure You're Taking This Too

We've all heard that Omega 3s are good for us- and for many many reasons they are. They fight heart disease, depression, low back pain, inflammation, skin disease. They're great, and that's why so many of us take them! But did you know that when we take Omega 3s and don't use all of what we've ingested, we also don't poop or pee them out. Instead, we store them. Omega 3s are fat soluble and therefore stored in our fat cells for our body's future use. However, because of this, the body in its infinite wisdom, will begin oxidizing what it sees as free radicals, rendering our precious fish oil useless in our bodies. Oh no!

Well we can solve this problem by simply adding another wonderful vitamin to our daily regimen- Vitamin E. Vitamin E is also fat soluble and therefore stored in our fat cells when we've taken more than what we need in a given moment. And not coincidentally, Vitamin E is also an antioxidant, and works to keep that wonderful fish oil safe, usable, and happy for future use. Yay! Crisis averted.

Now not all Vitamin E is created equally- it is important to make sure you buy all natural and NEVER synthetic Vitamin E. When your bottle lists"D-ALPHA Tocopherol" as its Vitamin E source, this is natural and safe to take. When your bottle lists "D-L Alpha Tocopherol" this is synthetic and should be tossed in the trash.

And we can go one step further, it's even better if you can get a Vitamin E with "Mixed Tocopherols," "Delta", "Gamma", etc., as they have an increased effect on the immune function. Only certain brands have this- so you must do your research or consult your trusted holistic health care practitioner for a good source. As always, I offer them in my office for my patients, and your practitioner might too. For adults a typical healthy safe dosage is around 400IU, but as with any new supplement it's always good to check with your doctor or acupuncturist to be sure it's right for you.

Now we can truly go on living knowing we are getting the MOST out of our delicious, nutritious fish oil.

Vitamin D & the Important H1N1 Connection

Vitamin D has so many positive effects on our immune function, and these days it seems everyone is jumping on the Vitamin D bandwagon. YAY! Something the holistic docs and the western docs can finally agree on. Now some of the 1st evidence has come out on the importance of Vitamin D levels & staying free of the H1N1 flu virus this winter. With the many serious concerns involving the H1N1 flu vaccine - it's important to do all we can to stay healthy this winter with diet, nutrition, hand washing, and supplementation of immune building nutrients. Please read the letter below to discover what this doctor found at the health care facility he works at.

***Please keep in mind optimal levels for vitamin D are around 60, but range between 50-80 is considered good. To find out your levels it takes a simple finger stick test or blood test and can be done at your doctors office or with me, and is usually covered by insurance. Each person needs different amounts to supplement with depending on where they fall in range- I usually recommend 4000-8000/day for adults and 1000-3000/day for children depending on your levels. And remember sunlight is not enough in the winter time! (unless you live in South Florida) This means supplementation is necessary for most of us this time of year. I recommend certain kinds of Vitamin D3 supplementation- as not all supplements are created equally. I offer them in my office or you can find them online. For more information on how to get these you can email me at wholefamilywellness@gmail.com.

Good luck and happy winter everyone!

Here is the letter posted on the Vitamin D council's website

"Dr. Cannell: Your recent newsletters and video about Swine flu (H1N1) prompted me to convey our recent experience with an H1N1 outbreak at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC). Unfortunately, the state epidemiologist was not interested in studying it further so I pass it on to you since I think it is noteworthy.

CWC is a long-term care facility for people with developmental disabilities, home for approx. 275 people with approx. 800 staff. Serum 25-OHD has been monitored in virtually all residents for several years and patients supplemented with vitamin D.

In June, 2009, at the time of the well-publicized Wisconsin spike in H1N1 cases, two residents developed influenza-like illness (ILI) and had positive tests for H1N1: one was a long-term resident; the other, a child, was transferred to us with what was later proven to be H1N1.

On the other hand, 60 staff members developed ILI or were documented to have H1N1: of 17 tested for ILI, eight were positive. An additional 43 staff members called in sick with ILI. (Approx. 11–12 staff developed ILI after working on the unit where the child was given care, several of whom had positive H1N1 tests.)

So, it is rather remarkable that only two residents of 275 developed ILI, one of which did not develop it here, while 103 of 800 staff members had ILI. It appears that the spread of H1N1 was not from staff-to-resident but from resident-to-staff (most obvious in the imported case) and between staff, implying that staff were susceptible and our residents protected.

Sincerely,

Norris Glick,

MD Central Wisconsin Center Madison, WI