The Optimum Function Blog

Ok, this entry has the potential to put every nutritionist (including me) out of a job. I’m OK with that; as a chiropractor, nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner and certified hypnotherapist, I can find other things to do to keep me busy.

Why am I writing this entry? Well, the main reason I went on the get my Master’s in Nutrition is because “nutrition” to many chiropractors, naturopaths and other alternative health care providers seems to mean “supplements”. I have seen people leaving with a grocery bag full of supplements to treat things that should predominantly be treated with a change in the way the person eats. I want to focus on food first to help people obtain health; after all, many of the diseases that plague our society have poor dietary and lifestyle habits as their cause. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times where supplements and yes, even medications are necessary to restore a healthy baseline but once that baseline has been restored, food should help you stay their.

What about genes? I am asked.

Well, genes are the bullets in the gun but your dietary and lifestyle habits are what pulls the trigger. Under certain conditions, we are finding out, some undesirable genes may be “turned-off” by eating in a healthy manner. In other cases, some genes that are desirable and even protective may be “turned-on” by healthy dietary and lifestyle habits.

OK…..what are they?

I have just started reading Michael Pollen’s book entitled In Defense of Food, he is the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and a proponent of these very same dietary “rules”. In fact, since you are reading this blog, you are probably computer savvy enough to watch his You Tube presentation located here.

Drum roll please……
Eat Food, not too much, mostly plants. Meats should be looked at as side-dishes not huge main courses.

That’s it!
In a nutshell….yes. Notice I wrote “food”; this warrants some defining because part of our dietary dilemma has stemmed from a 32 Billion dollar a year marketing scheme by the food industry hell-bent on convincing you that processed products from boxes, mixes, plastic containers are food…..most of them are not!

Here’s my definition of food: Anything that comes from a plant, tree, shrub or animal or any meat that can be directly cut from an animal or fish. These foods are not at all or minimally processed in the cases of oils (olive, palm coconut etc.), cheeses (without flavoring or coloring), and fermented foods like yogurt, tempeh and miso.

I know, this is boring and, according to the food industry marketing giant…..it’s not very sexy, it won’t make you popular, it won’t make you rich, successful….add your own propaganda here…..

True, eating this way won’t make you rich or successful or make other people like you but eating the way we have been for the past 30-50 years won’t either AND in addition, eating the way we have been eating will make you fat and unhealthy.

If this was the solution to staying healthy as we age, wouldn’t everyone be eating this way?
Nope, 32 billion dollars is a lot of money, plenty to change the minds of many industrialized-nation inhabitants. (notice how I didn’t just say Americans). Enough money to convince us that processed fortified foods will keep us healthy. Look at the stats, we’re not getting any healthier.

Is that really it?
OK, there are a few more “rules” that can be listed. In general, if a food-product (not really food) makes a health claim……it’s not really food and food it what you want to eat to be healthy. There are a few more but they pale in comparison to the main message of this blog entry.

Why do we need nutritionists?
Well, if we adhered to these “rules” we wouldn’t; we are the only species on this planet that “eats” instead of “feeds”. Eating for us is as much a social and gastronomic experience as it is a nourishing one. In fact, it is through these experiences that the food industry tries to convince us that all those fake, unhealthy foods are actually healthy for us. In addition, “Mom” use to be the bearer of all this nutritional knowledge. This knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation. In fact some of our dietary habits use to be tradition, both religious and worldly traditions. Things like gluttony, eating huge helpings of one particular food and not eating any vegetables used to be looked at as “unacceptable”. Now, our “Moms” (I put Mom in quotations because it could be Dad, or anyone who does most of the meal preparing) have to work full-time, the traditions have been “bucked” but we’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

This is where a nutritionist can come into play. We can help you get back on track, this is especially true for those with pre-existing health concerns.

Here is my wish in regards to nutritionists:
I want us to become leaders in teaching people how to shop, prepare and eat foods that both adhere to these “rules” but also fit into our busy lives. I want us to be the ones in cooking shows; teaching people how to prepare a delicious meal for an entire family in under 30 minutes. I want the nutritionists of the world to be the ones instilling in us the importance of getting people together, cooking real food and eating it together….not in our cars, on commuter trains, or while running to our cubicles.

With books like The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food, ChefMD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine, Gourmet Nutrition and more; nutritional experts are helping us, as a culture, relearn many of the intrinsically healthy ideas about what to eat, how to eat it and how to prepare it. The evolution of this information is in helping us do all of this in our modern time-constraints.

To find out more about the nutritional programs at Optimum Function click Here (www.YourOptimumNutrition.com), call 503-866-9739 or email nutrition@OptFunction.com

I was recently turned-on to Flock, a browser that brings Web 2.0 functions like social networking, blogging and tweeting to the foreground. Instead of being separate and individual processes; blogging, web browsing, writing tweets, facebook updated and LinkedIn information can now work pretty seamlessly by using Flock.

My patients know that I try and keep every process in my clinic as stream-lined as possible, from me website to my online scheduling to my Meta-eHealth site to giving support via email and video conferencing to my blog; I have tried to use technology to educate both my self and my patients and bring relevant health information to anyone who wants to learn.

Please, enjoy 2009, it’s going to be an exciting year for me and Optimum Function.

Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, LMT, Nutritionist, CKTP, MScan.
Optimum Function: Portland, OR, 97215
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Chiropractic, Nutrition, Functional Medicine, Functional Movement, Graston, Kinesiotape

As  many of my patients know, I am a big proponent of proper vitamin D levels. Vitamin D has been implicated in everything from bone health to cardiovascular disease to resistance to infection, to autoimmune disease to cancer. It’s an INCREDIBLY important vitamin; in fact it acts more like a hormone than a vitamin.

You can search through my blogs to see that I have presented some of the current research on vitamin D in previous entries.

Here is some exciting news. You can now receive an at home vitamin D test from ZRT labs that previously cost over $100 for $30. That’s cheaper than I can charge for a vitamin D test that requires a blood draw. Blood is involved with this test but it utilizes a blood-spot not a vial of blood. You prick your finger, put a few drops of blood on a card, let it dry and send it to the lab.

Is this procedure comparable to the whole blood test?

It seems to be!

What’s the catch? Well, Grass Roots Health is doing a 5 year study on vitamin D so they need everyone to commit to 2 tests a year for 5 years. I recommend having everyone test their vitamin D levels twice a year anyway so this is very reasonable and clinically sound.

Here’s what you need to do to receive the test for $30:

• Logon to www.ordervitamindtest.org
• Fill in the health questionnaire
• Order your test kit–choose your subscription option; it’s a 5 year project and we need to have vitamin D measurements each 6 months for that period

To learn more about vitamin D, how to get more in your diet or to have a full nutritional work-up including blood work that will include vitamin D and other important markers, go to www.YourOptimumNutrition.com and click on the “Schedule Appointment Online” button or call direct at 503-866-9739

Optimum Function: Chiropractic, Graston, Kinesiotape, Cold Laser, Functional Medicine, Fucntional Movement, Nutrition

Efficient movement patterns are the foundation of obtaining strength, power and performance. In order to perform functional movements patterns correctly and efficiently, you first must understand and realize the importance of primitive movement patterns. Primitive movement patterns are used to describe those movements most humans explore during growth and development. These foundational movements include rolling, pushing up, being sturdy on your hands and knees and crawling; in that order. Then progressive but still primitive patterns like squatting, touching your toes and the ability to bear weight on one leg develop.

It may be hard to understand how “simple” movements like crawling or rolling relate to strength, power and performance; bear with me as I try and explain. All movements, no matter how simple or complex, exist because of a balance between mobility and stability. When we all learned these primitive movement patterns, we did not, for the most part, have any mobility issues so the ability to perform these primitive patterns relied almost completely on stability. Now, to go back and revisit and many times, relearn these patterns, you must first deal with any mobility issues that you almost certainly have. Then, you will relearn these patterns and see how even more complex movement and tasks become easier and more efficient. I recently received a call from a patient who has been participating in my optimal movement screening and treatment program; he informed me that he played basketball for the first time in “years” and was able to dunk the ball; a feat that he had not be able to do in a while. This foundation, these primitive patterns are often neglected while training, recreating and working-out. You have been literally “learning how to run before you can efficiently walk”.

The first rule of functional training, performance and optimal movement is not forgetting the foundation, these primitive movement patterns. You entered this world as an being with unrestricted mobility; you then learned to stabilize quickly progressing to more complex movement. In order to do this, you first learned to reflexively stabilize your spine, in order to control movement more distally in your arms and legs. This happened naturally during growth and development; however, many individuals lose the ability to naturally stabilize with age due to left and right differences, minor and major injuries, poor training or repetitive daily activities. You, like many of us, have developed compensatory movements, which then create inefficiency and asymmetry with respect to movement. This slowly affects strength, endurance, performance, power and will eventually lead to injury.

Exercise professionals, manual medicine doctors and physical therapists often overlook these primitive patterns because highly active individuals can often perform many high level movements without easily observable deficits. My Optimal Movement Screen consists of techinques introduced by Gray Cook and other functional movement gurus and it gives me greater relative insight into primitive patterns by identifying limitations and asymmetries. It allows me to assess whether you have a primary mobility problem, primary stability problem or some combination of the two. I will almost always begin with helping your mobility to improve before moving to developing better stability. These two components will always come before looking to improve dynamic movements and performance although you, like my other patients in my Optimal Movement program, will undoubtedly notice a greater efficiency in you day-to-day movements and activities. You may, however notice a change in your performance if you are a high-end athlete. This is because I will need to “peel-off” the layers of performance that was built on a shaky movement foundation.

For more info on my Optimal Movement Program, click here

To schedule an appointment, click on the above link to www.OptMovement.com, click on the “Schedule Appointment Online” button and follow the directions; you can always call 503-866-9739 or email info@optfunction.com.

Yours in Health
Tim Irving DC, LMT, Nutritionist, CKTP, MScan.
Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Chiropractic, Graston Therapy, Kinesiotape, Cold Laser, Nutrition, Functional Medicine

A recent interview with Joline Beulens MSc, Ph.D. in the journal Atherosclerosis reveals that vitamin K may play an important role in combating blood vessel calcification which can lead to atherosclerosis.

The interview was published in the July 19th issue; in it, Dr. Beulens talks about vitamin K’s role in activating a protein that inhibits blood vessel calcification.

Vitamin K is commonly known to be involved in blood clotting but not many experts know its role in cardiovascular disease. There are different forms of vitamin K:

• K1 seems to be particularly involved in blood clotting
• K2 is involved with activating proteins like the on mentioned above but also a protein called osteocalcin; which is needed for proper bone metabolism.

To find out how to incorporate more vitamin K into your diet or to determine if vitamin K supplementation might be an option for you, you can go to www.YourOptimumNutrition.com or contact me via email at info@optFunction.com or phone 503-866-9739

Yours in Health
Tim Irving DC, LMT, CKTP, Nutritionist, MScan.
Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Chiropractic, Nutrition, Functional Medicine, Functional Movement

In a study involving 12 moderately active young men, exercising ,oderately 2 hours after a meal was found to extend the appetite-suppressing effects of food intake and to increase concentrations of a hormone involved in regulating appetite. When subjects exercised (same duration and intensity) The authors conclude, “These data indicated the timing of exercise to meal consumption may influence appetite and its hormonal regulators.”

To find out more about when and how to eat, call 503-866-9739 or go to www.OptFunction.com and click on “schedule an appointment”

Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, LMT, Nutritionist, CKTP, MScan.
Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon, 97214
Optimum Function = Optimum Health
www.OptFunction.com

Source:
“Appetite regulation via exercise prior or subsequent to high-fat meal consumption,” Cheng MHY, Bushnell D, et al, Appetite, 2009; 52(1): 193-198.

I’m having problems with duplicate tweets when I write a blog.

My Optimum Function Facebook ID is “OptimumFunction Portland”

My Twitter ID is: “Optfunction”

Now there are even more ways to keep up to date with Optimum Function and all of the research/news that I can handle

Over the last 5-10 years St. John’s Wort (Hypernicum) has fallen in and out of favor as a safe, natural treatment for depression. Many experts concluded that it is only effective with mild to moderate depressive disorders. These conclusions were often based on single studies.

Recently, the Cochrane Group performed a systematic review that evaluated the efficacy and safety of St. John’s wort extracts for the treatment of major depression. The review included studies comparing St. John’s wort to a placebo, standard antidepressants or both in a total of 5,489 patients.
In trials ranging from 4 to 12 weeks in duration with daily doses of 500-1200 mg, response rates for St. John’s wort were similar to those for older antidepressants (tricyclics and tetracyclics) and for serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and superior to those for placebo.Those taking St. John’s wort experienced significantly fewer adverse affects.

The standard dose for many botanical medicine or phytomedicine is not 100% consistent in the various brands and preparations. It is recommended that you consult a professional who has experience recommending the correct preparations and correct standardization. Databases like Natural standard and ComsumerLab produce information that can help the clinician make evidence-based decisions on these parameters.
Also, there may be interactions between St. John’s wort and the following drugs:

• SSRIs
• immunisuppressant drugs
• Anticoagulent drugs
• protease inhibitors
• reverse transcriptase inhibitors

To find out more about St. John’s Wort and if it may be beneficial for you, ask you doctor or schedule an appointment at www.OptFunction.com.

Yours in Health,
Tim Irving DC, LMT, Nutritionist, CKTP, MS can.
Optimum Function: Portland OR, 97214
Optimum Function = Optimum Health
www.OptFunction.com

Source:
Klaus Linde, Michael M Berner, Levente Kriston; St John’s wort for major depression; Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008 Oct 8;(4):CD000448

A study in Madrid Spain concluded that patients (male and female) with lateral epicondylitis  (AKA tennis elbow: pain on the outside of your elbow) received some great benefits from just  one cervical (neck) adjustment. These benefits were a decrease in pain especially due to  pressure, and increase in the pain-free grip strength. The decrease in pain due to pressure  occurred in both elbows, even the one with no symptoms!

This is one of a string of studies suggesting cervical (neck) adjusting can help decrease  pain and dysfunction in the shoulder, elbows and wrist even though you may not have any neck pain.

To find out more about cervical adjusting or to schedule an appointment to see what  adjusting and/or other treatment modalities at Optimum Function can do for you, call 503-866-9739, email info@OptFunction.com or go to www.OptFunction.com and click on “schedule an Appointment”.

Find out how my patients are working with me to live pain free.

Your in Health,
Dr. Tim Irving DC, LMT, Nutritionist, CKTP, MScan.
Optimum Function, Portland, Oregon, 97214
Optimum Function = Optimum Health

Source:
Fernández-Carnero J, Fernández-de-las-Peñas C, Cleland JA. Immediate hypoalgesic and motor effects after a single cervical spine manipulation in subjects with lateral epicondylalgia. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2008 Nov-Dec;31(9):675-81.