So much to be thankful for...

I love Thanksgiving because it revolves around my favorite things, such as spending time with family, eating delicious food, relaxing, watching football, and giving thanks for all of life's blessings.
Thanksgiving is often associated with a strange word: cornucopia. A cornucopia is a curved, hollow goat's horn or similarly shaped receptacle overflowing, especially with fruit and vegetables, and used as a decorative motif emblematic of abundance. The diversity of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds gives us a variety to choose from, similar to the topics presented today.
It has been a fun year of learning, and I have been sharing some of the information that my staff and I learned at a recent conference. One of the speakers was Dr. Charles Sefcik, a chiropractor from Bismarck and someone that I've had the honor to podcast with. His talks are always super interesting, and this one was titled "Healthy Brains on Purpose."
He started with some statistics about the brain from a book called Supercharge Your Brain:
• The adult human brain holds 86 billion neurons, each with 15,000 synapses, 85 billion glial cells, 528,000 miles of transmitting fibers, and a privileged blood flow of 1.3 pints per minute through 100,000 blood vessels.
• Its weight is just 2% of total body weight, yet it will consume 20% of the body's energy.
• Your brain makes an average of 35,000 decisions every day.
• Your brain has a memory capable of holding 1 trillion bytes of data and can turn over 100 trillion operations per second.
If our brain isn't working optimally, we will certainly struggle in many areas of our lives. We have complete and total control over what we eat when trying to keep our brains healthy. Eating food that increases blood glucose and promotes inflammation can be a detriment to a healthy brain. Avoid foods with refined sugar, refined grains, and refined seed oils from seeds and vegetables. If it's been refined, it's probably not good for you. All these products are sources of inflammation, affecting your brain's ability to run optimally.
Dr Sefcik cited a study that included people over 65 who took a multivitamin daily for 3 years. The study showed that a multivitamin slowed age-related cognitive decline by 60% (or about 1.8 years). One simple change—boosting nutrient levels—improved global cognition, episodic memory, and executive function and slowed cognitive decline by almost 2 years.
Another study showed that while inflammation is usually a self-limiting process, when persistent or dysregulated, it can become harmful to human tissues. If this happens within the central nervous system, it is referred to as neuroinflammation. Many studies proved that chronic neuroinflammation could ultimately lead to neurodegeneration or damage to the nerves in our brains. He talked about how pro-resolving mediators, a byproduct of omega-3 fish oil, can offset and help repair the brain.
The gut-brain connection plays a vital role in how well our brain performs. He discussed strategies to fix and improve a suboptimal gut using targeted nutrients, including bovine colostrum, probiotics, and products designed to heal a leaky gut. Taking care of our gut is equally essential when working on the brain.
Ensuring we have adequate omega-3 fatty acids in our system is another way to promote a healthy brain. You may be asking yourself, "But why?" About 2/3 of your brain comprises fat, and 20% is from Omega 3 fatty acids, specifically DHA. Omega 3 helps to maintain brain structure and function as we age. Studies also show that higher levels of Omega 3's in our blood are associated with larger brain volume. Omega 3 also helps the brain heal from trauma and infection.
I won't go too far into stress, but managing that aspect of your life will significantly improve cognitive function. Sleep goes hand in hand with stress, as insufficient sleep can lead to health issues.
For those of you who know Dr. Sefcik, he is an incredible individual and a wealth of information. His presentation was excellent; many patients will benefit from his shared information. He is just another thing to be thankful for during this holiday season.
Cornucopia can also be used in the many ways that I am thankful, which include:
• My God
• My health
• My family – wife, children, grandchildren, father, and siblings – are the people that give me the most joy each day.
• My staff or work family—I am surrounded by some incredibly talented individuals who share the common goal of serving our patients to the best of our abilities.
• The patients who come to our pharmacy. We are blessed to have so many kind and loving people with whom we interact each day. Some of them come with heavy burdens, and it is so rewarding when we can give them hope.
• The many incredible providers that we work with each day who send us their patients so that we can collaborate with them to steer them toward optimal health.
• My friends, who I would do anything for, and they would return the favor if needed.
• The ability to access food, water, clothing, and shelter.
• Living in a free country allows us to practice the religion of our choice.
Lastly, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. If you haven't thawed your turkey at this point, consider having something else. A turkey that isn't thawed out is one of my lovely wife's worst nightmares. Happy Thanksgiving!!
If you struggle to find solutions to your unresolved healthcare issues and want help with testing and supplementation, call the pharmacy @ 701-483-4858 to schedule a consultation. Please visit my website at www.irsfeldpharmacy.com to find this and other archived articles in the blog section and a link to listen to my podcast.
Until next time, be vigilant about your health!!










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