Podcasts about aa epa

In this episode, I'm excited to welcome Dr. Barry Sears, the renowned creator of the Zone Diet and a pillar in our field. Dr. Sears has not only authored bestsellers but has also made incredibly important contributions to clinical practice which we still rely on today: He is, for instance, the scientist who put the use of the AA:EPA ratio on the map. Dr. Sears provides elegant and accessible explanations of the unassailable importance of diet in addressing inflammation, metabolic health, chronic disease, and longevity, and the role that fatty acids play in that milieu. And while he and I might not agree that polyphenols need to be absorbed intact for benefit - there's plenty of evidence that their postbiotic products are very important players, especially in their interactions with the epigenome - his concerns about the chemical structure of highly concentrated fish oil supplements (with the potential for isomerization, as he argues) has opened my eyes and is important, without doubt. I think the jury is still out as to whether there is a negative influence of isomerization in highly concentrated EPA and DHA, but it's worthy of further investigation and (importantly) is another factor in the argument for a whole-food approach. - DrKF Check out the show notes at https://www.drkarafitzgerald.com/fxmed-podcast/ for all the relevant links and resources. Guest information Dr. Barry Sears, President, Inflammation Research Foundation and CEO of Zone Labs.Inc. bsears@drsears.com http://www.drsears.com/ http://www.zoneliving.com/ http://www.inflammationresearchfoundation.org/ Thank you to our Sponsors Diamond Rupa Health - https://tinyurl.com/yc26f6sj Biotics Research - https://www.bioticsresearch.com/ Integrative Therapeutics - https://tinyurl.com/47sfktzb Gold OneSkin - https://tinyurl.com/ycxvz5we Mira - https://tinyurl.com/3pj4t338 TimeLine Nutrition - https://tinyurl.com/4bsdfczz Midroll Practice Better Start your free trial and save 20% for 4 months on any paid plan with code KF20 - https://sites.practicebetter.io/new-frontiers-in-functional-medicine Show Notes Dietary Control of Inflammation and Resolution - https://tinyurl.com/vadkjzf7 The STRENGTH trial - https://tinyurl.com/282cz27m OMEMI Trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33191772/ REDUCE-IT Study - https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01492361 ASCEND Study - https://ascend.medsci.ox.ac.uk VITAL Study - https://www.vitalstudy.org/ Longitudinal Study - Multi-omics Biological Age Estimation and Its Correlation with Wellness and Disease Phenotypes - https://tinyurl.com/2p85yx5f

When you're dealing with chronic illness and you feel inflamed, then you need to do the right testing to see how bad the inflammation is. The level of inflammation gives you a good idea of how your body is handling whatever illness is going on - from cancer to autoimmune disease. So the best panel I recommend is the fatty acid panel, and make sure it includes the AA/EPA ratio. Here's a link to a really good quality test that you can do at home with a simple blood spot - https://www.zinzino.com/shop/2012993781/US/en-US/products/shop/home-health-tests/309000 If you want to do that test and then get help understanding the results, comment below and I'll help you analyze them!

Iris from Denmark has generously donated an hour of her consulting time with me to you, the community, so that her case can be used to raise awareness of the importance of arachidonic acid and the pitfalls of getting too much EPA. In this podcast, we cover: 00:27 Iris's history of too much omega-3 and not enough omega-6. 01:52 The symptoms that have improved upon reversing this. 04:54 Is it correct that the body needs both arachidonic acid and DHA to resolve inflammation? 09:03 How to navigate this during pregnancy, where DHA and AA are both important for the baby but EPA is still a concern? 14:06 Does the body have a storage supply of omega-3? 18:00 What is more important, AA/EPA balance or total PUFA intake? What is more harmful, signaling compound imbalance, oxidative damage, or membrane fluidity distortion? 31:05 Is the proper strategy supplementing AA while reducing EPA, or is it getting more vitamin E? 33:30 What about the ratio of PUFA to saturated fat or total fat? 35:55 Vitamin E cannot protect against all the risks of PUFA. Here are the other things that matter. 41:50 Supporting the marine ecology.

Thank you for joining us for our 2nd Cabral HouseCall of the weekend! I'm looking forward to sharing with you some of our community's questions that have come in over the past few weeks…   Lindsey: Hello Dr. Cabral, I would love to pick your brain on a controversial Vitamin D question. I have always followed the integrative/holistic/naturopathic view on Vitamin D and the idea that low levels can be part of the chain reaction of root cause issues for many dis-eases of the body. However, I recently listened to a XXXXX podcast episode with XXXX about Vitamin D levels and supplementation that made a lot of sense even though it contradicts everything every respected Integrative doctor has ever thought about vitamin D. If you are familiar with his explanation, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If not, it's a suggested conversation topic for a future episode vastly different than the other vit d podcasts in the past.   Lindsey: Hello again Dr. Cabral - one more question to have a conversation about. I am breastfeeding and I wonder about future autoimmune issues for my baby. If I comprehend the autoimmune theory correctly, when the gut is leaky, proteins cross the lining and the body sees them as invaders creating an autoimmune response that expresses in the weak part of your individual body. This is very simplified. Since babies are born with permeable guts, can proteins go through my milk to do this. I am specifically worried because I have MODY or Type 1.5 diabetes. Since dairy in babes can cause type 1 diabetes, if I eat dairy will that do the same through my milk for the baby? What about allergen introduction? They suggest to do the big 9 within the first year. If one is a trigger, will it create AI?   Caitlin: I will try to keep this short: How do I know if I am suffering from candida overgrowth or just have a lot of the common symptoms of it for different reasons? I have severe eczema/dermatitis on my hands. I have suffered from this for years, on and off. I am working in a restaurant again, which has worsened it, but I know that my poor gut health in the past has played a role and steroid withdrawal. have for the last year and a half took major steps to improving my health Basically, I have the skin issues, I have yeast infections sort of often, and now I am experiencing dry scalp. Could this just be a few things happening at once and because it's winter? (I live in New York). I'm sorry for the lengthy message and understand if you can't answer on the podcast. Thank you for all you do.   Ales: Hello Dr. Cabral. I am an Integrative Health Practitioner L2, and I have question regarding food sensitivity testing. There seems to be newer version of testing called MRT (Mediator Release Test), which unlike IgG (testing for only type III sensitivity), is testing for type IV sensitivity. They claim that when the T-cells identity a food as harmful, they release mediators such as cytokines, histamines, and prostaglandins, causing inflammatory symptoms. Since MRT apparently measures the release of mediators from WBC and these mediators are proinflammatory chemicals, which leads to chain immune reaction, wouldn't it a much more accurate way to test for food sensitivities? Thank you for your thoughts..   Melissa: Hi Dr. Cabral - I've been working with a local functional medicine doctor and I found out I have 2 MTHFR gene mutations, high estrogen (testosterone and progesterone look good), high cortisol, APOE3/E4, low dopamine, high oxidative stress, AA/EPA is high, low MCHC, a marker for celiac disease, strep in my gut (no parasites) and my IgG and IgM are both very low. My FM dr is telling me to find an immunologist. I'm thankful to have all of this information but I'm feeling overwhelmed. I wanted to reach out for any specific advice you can provide with this info (nutritionally, testing, exercise, etc). Are there certain foods I shouldn't eat with MTHFR gene mutation or high estrogen? Thank you   Thank you for tuning into this weekend's Cabral HouseCalls and be sure to check back tomorrow for our Mindset & Motivation Monday show to get your week started off right!   - - - Show Notes and Resources: StephenCabral.com/2648 - - - Get a FREE Copy of Dr. Cabral's Book: The Rain Barrel Effect - - - Join the Community & Get Your Questions Answered: CabralSupportGroup.com - - - Dr. Cabral's Most Popular At-Home Lab Tests: > Complete Minerals & Metals Test (Test for mineral imbalances & heavy metal toxicity) - - - > Complete Candida, Metabolic & Vitamins Test (Test for 75 biomarkers including yeast & bacterial gut overgrowth, as well as vitamin levels) - - - > Complete Stress, Mood & Metabolism Test (Discover your complete thyroid, adrenal, hormone, vitamin D & insulin levels) - - - > Complete Food Sensitivity Test (Find out your hidden food sensitivities) - - - > Complete Omega-3 & Inflammation Test (Discover your levels of inflammation related to your omega-6 to omega-3 levels) - - - Get Your Question Answered On An Upcoming HouseCall: StephenCabral.com/askcabral - - - Would You Take 30 Seconds To Rate & Review The Cabral Concept? The best way to help me spread our mission of true natural health is to pass on the good word, and I read and appreciate every review!  

Question: How to manage blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. I don't specifically want to look at the omega-3-to-omega-6 ratio. The AA/EPA ratio, I do not believe in wanting to get it low enough to prevent inflammation. I don't believe in using it that way. But I do believe that if it were too low, it could cause problems. I don't know what the cutoff would be. But if you're on the low end of normal, then I would think about cutting back your intake of EPA. But my main concern would be if you're in the low or even middle end of the normal range for either arachidonic acid or DHA, I think you want to increase your intake of those. Particularly if your intake is already high, look for the cause of low levels. Especially if both of them are low, that could be caused by inflammation or oxidative stress. This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019 If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Tim Edwards of The InBound Podcasting Network joins Douglas W. Stephey, O.D., M.S., for Episode One of the Move Look & Listen Podcast.   Douglas W. Stephey, O.D., M.S. is a full-service eye and vision care provider in Southern California and is a sought-after conference speaker, educator, and passionate advocate for patients diagnosed with dyslexia, specific learning disability, ADHD, autism, and any other qualifying diagnosis for an IEP or 504 plan. Douglas W. Stephey, O.D., M.S. 208 West Badillo St. Covina, CA 91723 Phone: 626-332-4510 Website: http://bit.ly/DouglasWStepheyWebsite Videos: http://bit.ly/DrStepheyOptometryVideos The Move Look & Listen Podcast is brought to you in part, by Audible - get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/InBound If interested in producing a podcast of your own, like the Move Look & Listen Podcast, contact Tim Edwards at tim@InBoundPodcasting.com or visit www.InBoundPodcasting.com Transcription Below:  Tim Edwards: The Move Look & Listen Podcast with Dr. Doug Stephey is brought to you by Audible. Get a free audiobook download and a 30-day free trial Audible membership at audibletrial.com/inbound. You'll find over 180,000 titles to choose from, including several books mentioned here in the podcast. Support the Move Look & Listen Podcast by visiting www.audibletrial.com/inbound.  Dr. Stephey: If our two eyes are not working together well as a fast synchronized team, our internal mapquest continues to be off. It's consistently inconsistent with our ability to judge time and space. Those that don't feel well-grounded, those that have some measure of anxiety, oftentimes it starts in the visual system. If you can't move, look and listen in a fast, accurate, effortless, sustainable, age appropriate, meaningful way, you're in a world of hurt. There's a whole world in vision and how it affects brain function that no one's ever shared with you. 20/20 is perceived as a holy grail of going to the eye doctor. Well, I'm here to change that paradigm.  Tim Edwards: Hello and welcome to the very first episode of the Move Look & Listen podcast with optometrist, Dr. Doug Stephey. My name is Tim Edwards and I'm the founder of the Inbound Podcasting Network. Amongst our roster of shows, we cover topics such as nutrition, high intensity strength training, celebrity interviews, wellness, family law, and many others. But the topic of this show is more than what meets the eye, so to speak. You might be thinking, why in the world is an optometrist doing a podcast? Well, that is because Dr. Stephey is much more than your everyday eye doctor. As you heard in the opening of the podcast, Dr. Stephey mentions that vision directly relates to one's ability to function in life and that one is very obvious. But vision also affects the development of your sense of self, your place in the world, how you socially engage with others, your ability over your lifetime to receive further education, to live independently and have gainful employment.  Tim Edwards: Now, most of what I just mentioned may seem easy for most, but in reality it's definitely not for some. Dr. Stephey not only has a thriving optometry practice in southern California, but he is also here on the Move Look & Listen podcast to educate how vision therapy combined with specific lenses or prisms can greatly benefit those who might be diagnosed with ADHD. Or for parents who have children that land somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Or maybe even has a student in special education. In this podcast, Dr. Stephey will also educate us regarding common eye problems. How nutrition plays a key role in your vision health, and what exactly is 20/20 vision and why seeing 20/20 is not enough to move, look and listen through your life with ease. Our sister company to the Inbound Podcasting Network is Inbound Films and as you are about to hear, we produced a series of videos for Dr. Stephey's practice a couple of years ago. I was so impressed with Dr. Stephey and his amazing staff that he became our family optometrist and has also become a good friend. So it gives me great pleasure to kick off the maiden voyage of the Move Look & Listen podcast with Dr. Doug Stephey.  Dr. Stephey: Well, thank you and I'm excited to be here. Since we met and you talked about the things that I should be doing, like the videos that are on my website and the podcasting, and at one point in time I said, so let me get this right. I should just listen to you and get out of my own way. Tim Edwards: Yes, you did. And I think it's taken us a couple of years and we're here. And your passion and the message that you have to share is one that our audience needs because you're a nonconventional optometrist. And I hope that you take pride in that and not offended by that. Because you're very different and I believe that the world needs you, not just so that they can have some really cool looking glasses sitting on their nose.  Dr. Stephey: Well, you know, what's interesting about that is no, I did not take offense to it and because many times when I do the weird stuff in my office, people will tell me that I'm a voodoo doctor, or that I'm a witch doctor. And you know what?  Dr. Stephey: I can live with that. I'm okay with that.  Tim Edwards: You know why there's results, right? You're seeing results. I've seen the results myself and with what you've shown me on video.  Dr. Stephey: What's really interesting about that is if I take somebody who has postural issues, right? And most people would not associate posture problems with vision problems. And certainly not in their understanding of that the holy grail of going to the optometrist is to see 20/20. And that's important, but it's not the most important piece. I don't think. So, if I'm going to assess somebody's posture and their response to changes in posture through their visual system, I will often preface our conversation with, I don't know if this is going to work with you or not, but I'm willing to take the chance because if it doesn't work, you're just gonna think I'm crazy. And if it does work, you're going to think I can walk on water. Because how could I change the way your knee hurts or the way your hip hurt or the way your back hurts or the way your neck hurts by putting on a pair of glasses with prism or color. You don't believe it until you've experienced it.  Tim Edwards: That's true and I've experienced it for myself than just a personal story. My wife is experiencing it as we speak. She had the opportunity to see you a couple of weeks ago. She's now wearing her lenses that you prescribed for her, her colored lenses and we'll get into more of that a little bit later. But she is around fluorescent light all the time. That used to bother her and now it doesn't, as a result of these lenses. And that's the first time I've told you that is right here in the recording. So, you know, like I said in the lead into the episode, I told the story of how this podcast came to be Dr. Stephey. We don't want to scare people away when you say the word witch doctor because that might make people freak out a little bit, but give us a rundown of your optometry practice because it's not your run of the mill optometry practice where you're in and out in an hour with a pair of glasses.  Dr. Stephey: Early on in my career when I first bought this practice in 1988 and I was reading practice management tools, one of the fundamental questions that has to be asked and answered is, do you want to be a quantity practice or do you want to be a quality practice? Quantity practice is just that. It's about. It's about crunching the numbers, how many people you can get through your exam in an hour, and I chose not to do that. I wanted to be a quality practice and I see less patients per hour, but I think I spend much more quality time. I actually listen to patients. I've gotten much better over the years about watching patients. It's not uncommon that I'll notice that somebody taps their leg or wiggles a foot or drums their fingers or chews their lip or other quirky behaviors that they oftentimes know they have, but nobody's explained why they have and that's not ADHD.  Dr. Stephey: Most of the time that's an undiagnosed and untreated vision problem and that they need that kind of movement in order to shower up thier otherwise poor vision skills. So I decided to be a quality practice and when somebody comes to see me for an exam, I want them to learn how the eyes and brain have to work together as an integrated team and that in order to function appropriately in life, you've got to have eyes that see fast, that see accurately, that see effortlessly and sustainably over the course of the entire day. And if you can't do those things, there's going to be behavioral consequences to it. Either you're going to be pushed to be in fight or flight or you're going to learn how not to pay attention, right? That's the group that describes themselves or others describe them as daydreamers or spacey or staring out the window or absent-minded professor.  Dr. Stephey: That's an adaptation to typically not being in fight or flight. High fear, high anxiety, high distractibility. And then the third way some people adapt is they're chronically fatigued and they feel like over the course of the whole day they end up walking around on their last nerve. And oftentimes that's one of these undiagnosed underassessed, and undertreated vision problems. So that's really why I have practiced the way I do.  Tim Edwards: And it's evident from the moment that you walk into your practice, again, referring back to the intro to this podcast, I was able to meet you on a video project. And I won't go into too much into it right now because I talked it about earlier. But when I met with you to prepare and plan the video, the very first thing you did was stick me in your chair and go, all right, here's what I do.  Tim Edwards: I mean, I've been wearing glasses and contacts for over 25 years. Even had LASIK surgery back in the early 2000s. And I mentioned earlier that I've filmed dozens of marketing videos for optometrists throughout southern California. So I can say with great confidence that your methods that a patient experiences in your initial exam are slightly unconventional, which is a word that you embrace with your practice. They go way beyond the typical, you know, which lens looks better, one or two. And it's truly Dr. Stephey not hyperbole when I say that you blew my mind when I produced that first video, which of course, again, we'll have links to in the show notes. So you can see Dr. Stephey for yourself, for those that are listening while you're driving to work or walking the dog or on the treadmill or something. But please share, if you don't mind with our audience, some of the things that a new patient can expect when they see you for the first time, for that consultation, that same consultation that blew my mind.  Tim Edwards: How you're able to assess what you just spoke about. How we can, how you can determine whether or not someone is in constant fatigue or feeling anxiety or lack of concentration.  Dr. Stephey: You Bet. So first thing I want to say is there is great value in the part of the exam about which one is better, choice one or choice two. But what's interesting is that oftentimes patients will stress out about picking an answer. And if I ever get the feeling or somebody voices that concern to me, I remind them or tell them maybe for the first time after years of being stressed out with other exams, I remind them that I'm trying to get them to a point where the differences between the choices are so small that they can't pick a right answer because they're both right. So the little secret is we should get you to the point where you can't tell the difference between one or two. So stop stressing out about the choices.  Tim Edwards: There's always anxiety associated with that because you know that you're going to be committing to some lenses and so you want it to be right and perfect. So that anxiety that I've always felt, you know, like I said, wearing glasses for a quarter of a century and going and seeing different optometrists throughout the country, that the anxiety of picking one or two, you alleviate that. Just by how you worded it. And that is the very first thing that I noticed was, oh, that, that was easier than I thought. And that's just step one. That's foundation. Dr. Stephey: That's foundation. And the other thing to consider is a two circle venn diagram. So if we take two circles and partially overlap them those two circles are where most eye doctors practice. And one circle is can you see 20/20 and the other circle is related to eye health and/or eye disease. And again, those two circles have great value but they're insufficient. So there's a third circle that we're going to add into the venn diagram. And that third circle is really in my estimation, where all the magic happens. In that third circle, there is eye taming, eye focusing, eye tracking, visual attention, visual-auditory skills, visual-spatial skills, visual auditory, visual motor. And on and on it goes. Most eye doctors pretend like that third circle doesn't exist. So even if you've got major problems in the third circle.. Dr. Stephey: It's probably gone undiagnosed and untreated. Whether you had an exam the day before you came to see me or whether you've been going to the eye doctor like you have for 25 years. If you don't measure components in the third circle, if you don't ask questions in your history about the symptoms typically experienced by somebody having third circle problems, then you're never going to find those problems.  Tim Edwards: That's pretty clear.  Dr. Stephey: It's pretty simple. So I think one of the fundamental differences in my practice is when you walk in my exam room, well you know what, that's not even really true because it could be outside of my exam room. If I go to a bank and strike up a conversation with the teller about what I do, it's not unusual for me to ask them if they have a history of migraines or headaches.  Dr. Stephey: That's a simple question and a lot of people have those problems. So if I get a yes answer to that, it's already opened the door for us to have a conversation about me asking some other questions and then the patient looks at me like, what? What is going on? Because I'm answering yes to everything that you're asking me. And it's just that easy. So when you walk in my exam room, I am assuming that you have a third circle problem until you prove to me that you don't. And what I mean by prove to me it's either going to be the questions I asked you during the course of the exam or the questions that I hand to you at the end of the exam and have you go home and think about for a few days or during the course of my exam itself where I measure some things.  Dr. Stephey: For example, how easily or how difficult it is for you to cross your two eyes. Because that allows us to strike up a conversation about the way your two eyes work together as a team. How, if we think about the two eyes is being global positioning satellites that have to be in synchronous orbit and if your two global positioning satellites are not in synchronous orbit, then your internal map quest is off. A couple of the other quick assessments that I do in my office, I've got a couple of devices that allow you to see, let's say a vertical line through your rigght eye and a horizontal line through your left eye. And if your brain is using your two eyes together as an integrated team, you should see a plus sign. Well some people look at these targets and only see one line.  Dr. Stephey: So that gives me an opportunity to demonstrate to them that that they weren't looking through one of their two eyes and that is a concept, I think you used the phrase earlier that blows their mind.  Tim Edwards: That was the first thing that blew my mind was, oh my gosh, how did that happen? How was it that I had been seeing this one line and not the other?  Dr. Stephey: Right. And what exactly do you mean that my brain isn't looking through my left eye? I thought our eyes just looked out in space, picked up information and filter it back to the brain that we then processed. Well, that is how most people think about vision, but remember the retina, which everybody's heard of, right? The retina is specialized brain tissue that's pushed out into the eyeball. And the optic nerve is one of the 12 cranial nerves that is a direct branch off of the brain.  Dr. Stephey: So to be very clear, the brain does the scene, not the eyes. And in this context, the brain has to pick up data from the right eye, has to correlate it with the data in the left eye and then combine the two in order to use the two eyes together as a well integrated team. But if there's too much conflict. And now that happens, oftentimes in fact I would argue that the smartest of brains, will figure it out how to turn one eye off because if you can't use your two eyes together as a well-integrated team, your brain's either going to use your two eyes together as a poorly integrated team and lend itself to you being physically clumsy or to have a lot of fatigue or get tired or sleepy when you're read or be prone to headaches or migraines. So the brain's thinking, well, I can use the two eyes together that way, but be miserable doing it.  Dr. Stephey: Or I can shut one eye off and test drive what's life like if I do that. And then what's really the most, I think one of the most fun things about that whole discussion is when I point out to the patient about their wiggley left foot or they're chewing on their lip and we'll do that same assessment again and I'll have them do whatever they're quirky behavior was and probably 95, 97, 99 times out of 100, when they do that kind of movement, their brain will turn that eye on and tend to keep it on. So then we have another blow my mind moment because you know, I convey to them it's like, are you beginning to understand that all that motor overflow that  you've been doing is actually trying to solve the vision problem you didn't know you had. I'm like, how smart is your brain that it has figured that out and you don't even know it.  Dr. Stephey: So I think in part that's how my practice is different. I'm assuming that you have this problem until you prove to me that you don't.  Tim Edwards: And I would venture to guess that the majority, if not every single person who's listening to this has never experienced that at their optometrist, unless of course they're already listening and they're clients of yours. Is this done elsewhere? The way you set up your practice.  Dr. Stephey: Interesting thing about that, Tim, is that optometrists, at least part of us have been doing this kind of work since the 1930s and it was likely more common in the 50s and 60s maybe up even until the mid to late 70s. And then optometry as a profession started to increase it's scope of practice and started to do more medical things, which is fine. I think we should be able to practice within our scope so we should embrace the things that we're trained to know how to do, but not abandon the things that have made optometry so unique in its history.  Dr. Stephey: And as more optometrists adopted the medical model, they moved away from this behavioral or this neuro-developmental model. So I would venture to say that there's maybe 10 or 15 percent of optometrists in practice today that practice in this way. But I wouldn't change it for the world. I've said this in other venues, being able to practice this way and change people's lives in the manner in which we can do this. It's chicken soup for my soul, so I get to feel great everyday about what I do because it is life changing. You bet, Tim. So as an example, you're going to learn in the future why 20/20 is not enough. It's important. But remember that third circle part of the venn diagram, 20/20 is not enough. There's a whole lot more going on. You're going to learn about a concept you've never heard before.  Dr. Stephey: Called the magnocellular visual system, which is about seeing fast.  Tim Edwards: Seeing fast.  Dr. Stephey: Seeing fast. People know that when they go to the eye doctor, it's about seeing 20/ 20, right?  Tim Edwards: That's what we're told.  Dr. Stephey: Well that's not enough. We also have to account for how fast or how slow we see. Because there are a number of patients, kids and adults alike who have been defined as having slow processing speed. What typically isn't getting discussed is what exactly are we referring to when kids have slow processing speeds. While invariably it's tied in to vision. Even though most psychologists and cognitive psychologists don't describe processing speed in vision terms in most cases, there is a tie into these visual skills. So we're going to talk about seeing fast or slow. We're going to talk about the volume of space that you can see. That's something else that doesn't get talked about a whole lot.  Dr. Stephey: Some people who exhibit inattentive tendencies essentially have tunnel vision. So imagine the cardboard tubes at the end of the paper towel roll, and if we took the two of those and glued them to the front of your eyes, and that's the volume of space you could see. Well your head's going to be on a swivel top because you only see that big volume of space. So in order to capture your environment, you have to look and take a snapshot of each picture. That's that tiny, and you effectively have to build a collage and your mind of all the snapshots that you've just taken in order to try to image then the volume of space that you're supposed to see. And similarly, in terms of the tunnel vision, oftentimes people do the same thing with auditory and touch. These are the kids as an example where you might say, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, because they have learned how to be auditory and attentive.  Dr. Stephey: They have hyperfocused to a task and tuned everything else out in order to be able to try and do the task at hand.  Tim Edwards: There is the listen part of Move Look Listen.  Dr. Stephey: Yup. And similarly, if you're somebody in their 60s and 70s, this becomes an issue when you drive. Because if you imagine again the paper towel tubes and you're looking straight ahead and that's the volume of space that you see and some kids playing in the yard and his ball rolls out in the street and you don't see them until he's right in front of you, that's not good. And when you can only function with a small volume of space, it also contributes to your clumsiness. These are the patients that have bruises from hip to ankle, from running into the corners of tables or chairs, they run into the edge of a door frame, they don't like driving in the car pool lane because the whizzing pass to their peripheral vision of the concrete dividers is too upsetting. So we're going to be talking about those things.  Tim Edwards: Boy, these are every day run of the mill tasks that we all have and without thinking of that volume. It's almost like tunnel vision and it just inhibits how we function.  Dr. Stephey: Yes, because your brain has to make a decision about the volume of space that you're going to attend to or can attend to, and the speed with which you do it. So you can either see big and slow, smaller and faster. And one patient said, well, what if I want to see big and fast anyway, even if I don't have the skills to do it?   Dr. Stephey: I said, well, you can force yourself to do that but then you will be tired and cranky at the end of the day.  Tim Edwards: It's exhausting, right.  Dr. Stephey: It is exhausting. You can do it, but there's going to be a price to pay and it's going to be exhausting. And when you're that exhausted, it's going to wear out your adrenal glands. It's going to have some role to play in chronic gut dysfunction and it's likely to play a role in headaches and that you're just fatigued all the time.  Tim Edwards: My gosh, it's foundational. It's just foundational and everything is connected. If you think about all of the different ailments and problems or struggles or anxiety or stress that can be a result of not seeing fast or having great volume with your vision.  Dr. Stephey: Well, what's interesting about that, Tim, because that ties right into the next topics which has to do with nutrition and fish oil. And I was just at a nutrition conference yesterday all day and during one of the breaks, one of the other attendees, we introduced ourselves and she's a chiropractor. And most people in this group, there were a number of chiropractors, some acupuncturists, there was one M.D., there was one pharmacist and me. And when I told her I was an optometrist, reflexively, she said, what are you doing here?  Tim Edwards: Yeah, why are you here?  Dr. Stephey: And we didn't have much time to talk about it, but clearly she had fallen into the trap of, well all someone would come to see you for is to be able to see 20/20. And then I just said, you know..  Tim Edwards: Send her a link to the podcast and then let her subscribe and then she'll understand.  Dr. Stephey: Yes. That's excellent. Well, you know, she did want my contact information. So I texted her.  Tim Edwards: Wonderful.  Dr. Stephey: I may follow up with her and say, hey, what's your email because I need to send you some stuff. And where are you located? Because you're an 818 area code. So you're, within striking distance to my office, you need to know what I know.  Tim Edwards: That's right.  Dr. Stephey: So further episodes we are going to talk about nutrition and vision because we cannot parse out our brain functioning abilities and the way our GI tract functions from these visual skills that are all happening in that third circle.  Dr. Stephey: So nutrition is a critical part of the way I practice this kind of optometry. It has to be.  Tim Edwards: And again, have never heard an optometrist say that, and it's foundational. I mean, it comes down to what we put in our body, how it affects everything, not just our weight.  Dr. Stephey: No. Every cell membrane in your body has a component of fatty acids to it as an example. And your body and brain is going to make those cell membranes out of good fats or bad fats. And the problem is that we're exposed to way too many bad fats. People have heard something about omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 as well. We're going to talk about in more detail the differences between those two and the consequences to your brain and your visual skills and you're learning and attention. So those will be coming in future episodes.  Dr. Stephey: I'm going to be talking about something called retained primitive reflexes. Retained primitive reflexes have a foundational role to play in our abilities to develop our move, looking and listening abilities. So I've seen kids as an example who've done six, seven, 800 hours of occupational therapy and speech therapy and adaptive physical education services. They've been to reading tutors six to 800 hours.  Tim Edwards: My goodness. And I didn't hear vision therapy in there at all.  Dr. Stephey: No. And and they still have tremendously poor outcomes because I think most cases the visual skills are never assessed. So they're being jumped over and if you don't have these visual skills, you can't do those other outcomes in a way that you should be able to.  Tim Edwards: It's that key missing component.  Dr. Stephey: It's a key missing component. You know, at the bottom of my learning ladder, there's genetics and epigenetics, there's nutrition, then there's primitive reflexes. So it is really low down on the ladder and if you tried to jump over that and do things that are three or four rungs up the ladder, you're not going to have great outcomes.  Tim Edwards: Perfect example.  Dr. Stephey: And the sad thing about that discussion, which happens all too often, it's pretty much universal, is that you contribute to these kids misery because now there are six to seven out of eight hours in and not really getting better and it snuffs the spark of their really being interested in getting better because they increasingly don't believe they can. Because their life experiences would tell them, hey look, you're 700 hours into doing therapy, you're really not better than when we started. That is really sad.  Tim Edwards: It is very sad and expensive. I mean, of course it's more important that it's sad. But it's also quite expensive too.  Dr. Stephey: It is very expensive and it could be that the school district is paying for it. And in one of the upcoming episodes, we're going to talk about educational rights as it relates to your move, look and listening abilities.  Dr. Stephey: And you're going to learn a lot about what your rights really are as a parent. And how likely those rights have been violated even as we speak. So I think that's going to be one of the most exciting episodes for parents to hear. Parents, grandparents, and even some educators because if you're a classroom teacher who's, in the front lines, teaching these kids, those kids and their behaviors are disrupting the flow of your classroom. So you really want to know this information because it's going to make your life easier in the classroom. And ultimately it's going to affect that child's life who's in your classroom. If not during the year that you have them, certainly for the future.  Tim Edwards: And perhaps these educators with that knowledge can look upon those children with a lot more grace than they would before, knowing what they're going through.  Dr. Stephey: Well, I think they will. And another example of that, this past week I've had an opportunity to assess a 16-year-old. She's had an IEP for a number of years, has never had this vision assessment as is pretty much universally true. Let's be real. It's universally true. And she's currently kicked out of school because she's gotten in one too many fights at school. She's fairly disconnected when she's in class and I believe that it's primarily related to the problems that we're going to be talking about in these future episodes. It is a combination of nutrition and this vision piece. So she is perpetually in a constant state of fear that is beyond her control. I mean it's not surprising or would not be surprising to me that somebody brushes up against her in the hallway and she's ready to punch him in the face because she perceives that as a threat.  Dr. Stephey: And when, when you're pushed to be in survival based behavior, it's survival at all cost. So if somebody invades your personal space and touches you and you perceive it as a threat, you're going to fight back. So I think she's oftentimes swinging the first punch and doesn't even know it until after it's happened.  Tim Edwards: And others might look upon that as an offensive, aggressive behavior and it is. But the root of it is it's really defensive because of what's going on in her mind being in fear all the time.  Dr. Stephey: Absolutely. That's what's happening and I think that is in great part why she throws her hood up. When she's in class because she's trying to withdraw into her shell and not feel that miserable and not feel that anxious, not feel like I want to run out of the room screaming. I'm forced to be here, but the only way I can really survive this is to learn how not to pay attention.   Dr. Stephey: It is really sad and I was talking to her mom about this and you never know when you're going to strike the right chord because I was having a discussion with her mom about about this. Her being pushed to be in constant fear and I made the comment about how if you're in this state, if your autonomic nervous system is so dysregulated that you are in a constant state of fear that you could make eye contact with somebody across the room and be ready to go over and punch him because you perceive them looking at you as a glare. Right. It's like, why are you looking at me that way? Really? I'm just looking at you and then that turns into a confrontation and so her mom had mentioned to me that, that is exactly what happens to her. She misinterprets facial cues and that's going to tie into one of the future episodes as well. We're going to talk about something called the polyvagal theory of affect, emotion and self-regulation. And that if your autonomic nervous system is dysregulated that you are precluded or prevented from engaging in social behavior or at least positive social behavior. You may be engaged in negative social behavior and that's what's gotten her kicked out of school right now. So we're also going to be talking about learning disabilities and dyslexia because as an example, in my estimation, those are just labels.  Dr. Stephey: They don't really tell us anything. And when, when I meet somebody in my office and if it's a parent and they say, oh, my child has a learning disability or my child's dyslexic. I usually say, what do you mean by that?  Dr. Stephey: And then they look at me like, what do you mean, what do I mean? And I said, well, you're the one that threw out the term, I want to know what your understanding of that term actually means. And that's when they pause and they're like, I guess I don't really know what it means. I said, okay, well amuse me for a second. I'm going to rattle off some terms you tell me which of these terms you know could define and specifically how they apply to your child. Phonological processing, rapid naming speed, working memory, convergence insufficiency, vergence facility, accommodative facility, ocular motor skills, retained primitive reflexes, millisecond timing clock deficits, and your child's AA-EPA ratio as measured in their blood. And then I get that blank stare.  Dr. Stephey: They typically don't know any of these answers because nobody's sharing the information with them.  Tim Edwards: They were just labeled.  Dr. Stephey: They were just labeled. So you know, that's really the purpose of this first series of podcasts is that I want to broaden people's knowledge about what is out there. The labels don't mean anything, not really. Learning disability, dyslexia, reading disorder, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, inattentive ADD. Those are just labels. They recognize the behaviors, but I want to go back to my holy bucket analogy, and assess why are you ending up with those behaviors. And how again, that ties into your abilities to move, look and listen. And shouldn't we be assessing for those skills and treating those skills because I don't care what your chronological age is. If there's a big gap between your developmental age and your chronological age related to your abilities to move, look and listen you're going to struggle.  Dr. Stephey: And that ties also into kids on the spectrum because you know when we go from however we define normal and we slide down the scale of behaviors while there is normal and then there's ADDness and ADHDness and then there's high functioning autism and asperger's, and nonverbal learning disabilities, and then there's more traditional spectrum kids that are not as high functioning and then there's kids who are nonverbal. All of this is on a continuum. So when I assess even a nonverbal child, I'm looking at their abilities to move, look and listen, and how those skills allow them to regulate their autonomic nervous system and engage their social behaviors to facilitate their ability to read gestural language and body language and facial expressions and think about that for a minute. Gestural language, body language and facial expressions all read through the visual system.  Tim Edwards: That's true. It's all absorbed through their eyes.  Dr. Stephey: It is, and most social psychologists would tell you that 80 percent of what somebody is telling you is through their body language, not the words coming out of their mouth. Because there's more messaging in the nonverbal cues. We're going to wrap up the first series with two different episodes. One is going to talk about brain injuries and alzheimer's and one is going to talk about headaches and migraines because both of those things have a tremendous visual overlay. For example, there's estimated to be 3 million sensory neurons that feed information to the brain through vision, auditory, taste, touch and smell. And of that 3 million nerve fibers, there's roughly 30,000 auditory nerve fibers per ear and roughly 1.2 million per eye. Almost two and a half of the 3 million sensory inputs to our brain and our brain's ability to experience our environment, are tied up in the visual system. And that goes directly in to the third circle of the venn diagram.  Tim Edwards: Wow, that's it. Move Look Listen with Dr. Stephey. You know you mentioned, you alluded to it earlier when we were going through some of the topics we're gonna cover in season one of the podcast, but I'd like for you to dive down just a little bit more to Dr. Stephey if you don't mind, into what it is in one statement, what it is you want to accomplish by producing and distributing this content through your Move Look Listen podcast.  Dr. Stephey: The purpose of my doing this podcast and how it relates to one's ability to move, look and listen, relates to your ability to function in life, your development of your sense of self, your place in this world, how you socially engage with others, your ability over your lifetime to receive further education, live independently, and have gainful employment. That's the purpose of Move Look & Listen.  Tim Edwards: Well, I can't wait to delve into season one with you, Dr. Stephey. This has been a long time coming and I do believe much needed information for anybody struggling with any of those issues that we've talked about here in our inaugural maiden voyage of the podcast. Thank you for your time and looking forward to season one with you Dr. Stephey.  Dr. Stephey: Thank you.  Tim Edwards: Thank you for listening to the Move Look & Listen Podcast with Dr. Doug Stephey brought to you by audible. Get a free audio book download and a 30 day free trial of audible membership at audibletrial.com/inbound. You'll find over 180,000 titles to choose from, including books mentioned here in the Move Look & Listen podcast. You can listen to these books through your iphone, your android, your kindle, your computer, or even an MP3 player. And if for any reason and at any time you choose to cancel your membership, you keep all of your audio book, downloads. Give it a shot for 30 days. You got nothing to lose. Support the Move Look & Listen podcast by visiting audibletrial.com/inbound. We will include a link for your convenience, in the show notes of this and every episode of the podcast. And of course if you like some more information regarding Dr. Stephey's practice or to make an appointment, we will include links in the show notes to Dr. Stephey's website and his youtube channel.  Tim Edwards: Dr. Stephey's website is stepheyoptometry.com. That's s t e p h e y optometry.com. You can also call the office at 626-332-4510. Again, all of Dr. Stephey's contact information will be included in the show notes of each and every episode. One last request before we let you go on to the next episode, please subscribe to the podcast from whichever platform you might be listening in. Of course, it is free to subscribe and it ensures that every time we post a new episode, you'll find it right there waiting for you to listen in your podcast app of choice. We really do appreciate your listening and until next time for Dr. Stephey of the Move Look & Listen podcast. I'm Tim Edwards with the Inbound Podcasting Network.    

In this episode we dive deep into inflammation, but more specifically chronic inflammation. Topics discussed: Acute inflammation and how that process works and why it's absolutely essential to life. Chronic Inflammation, also referred to as systemic inflammation or cellular inflammation. What is it and what diseases, disorders, and maladies is it starting to be connected to. We introduce some of the major players which are pro-inflammatory cytokines, the free radical chain reaction, and AA/EPA ratios. Insulin resistance may be one of the largest contributors, but we don't address that until later in the episode. Then we move into the various pathways that will lead you to be chronically inflamed and I give you 10 different pathways. You may not be affected by all of them, but I guarantee you are affected by at least a few of them. The 10 pathways I explain are: The free radical chain reaction  Polyunsaturated fatty acids AA/EPA ratio also referred to as Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio. Gluten Lectins Insulin resistance Excess body fat, more specifically excess visceral fat Cortisol Chronic exercise Insufficient/inadequate sleep Afterwards we talk about how 7 of those pathways are diet related and 3 are lifestyle related.  And in our Call-to-Action we talk about the best ways to reduce or eliminate sources of chronic inflammation. This includes a ceiling on daily carbohydrate intake, some foods to avoid, some foods to add, as well as some possible supplements that can help you combat your inflammation.  Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review and share it with someone who could benefit from this information. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @ThinkersApprentice

Welcome back to the #FridayReview and I'm looking forward to sharing with you so many exciting topics this week! First up, I'll be sharing a brand new product being released (yay!), IHP re-opening on Monday, and a new podcast I was interviewed on... Next up, I'll be doing a full review of a fantastic Nomatic travel pack that I'm loving and how it's saved me on all my speaking and travel this past month... Then, I'll be going over some important FDA labeling changes and a research study on the importance of vitamin D and an increase in Schizophrenia... And finally, I want to share why the ratio of arachidonic acid to EPA is crucial for controlling inflammation and keeping you healthy... For all the details tune into today's #CabralConcept 1120 - Enjoy the show! - - -   Show Notes & Resources: http://StephenCabral.com/1120 - - - Dr. Cabral's New Book, The Rain Barrel Effect https://amzn.to/2H0W7Ge - - - Join the Community & Get Your Questions Answered: http://CabralSupportGroup.com - - -   Dr. Cabral’s Most Popular Supplements: > “The Dr. Cabral Daily Protocol” (This is what Dr. Cabral does every day!) - - - > Dr. Cabral Detox  (The fastest way to get well, lose weight, and feel great!) - - - > Daily Nutritional Support Shake  (#1 “All-in-One recommendation in my practice) - - - > Daily Fruit & Vegetables Blend  (22 organic fruit & vegetables “greens powder”) - - - > CBD Oil  (Full-spectrum, 3rd part-tested & organically grown) - - - > Candida/Bacterial Overgrowth, Leaky Gut, Parasite & Speciality Supplement Packages - - - > See All Supplements: https://equilibriumnutrition.com/collections/supplements  - - -   Dr. Cabral’s Most Popular At-Home Lab Tests: > Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (Test for mineral imbalances & heavy metal toxicity) - - - > Organic Acids Test (Test for 75 biomarkers including yeast & bacterial gut overgrowth, as well as vitamin levels) - - - > Thyroid + Adrenal + Hormone Test  (Discover your complete thyroid, adrenal, hormone, vitamin D & insulin levels) - - - > Adrenal + Hormone Test (Run your adrenal & hormone levels) - - - > Food Sensitivity Test (Find out your hidden food sensitivities) - - - > Omega-3 Test (Discover your levels of inflammation related to your omega-6 to omega-3 levels) - - - > Stool Test (Use this test to uncover any bacterial, h. Pylori, or parasite overgrowth) - - - > Genetic Test (Use the #1 lab test to unlocking your DNA and what it means in terms of wellness, weight loss & anti-aging) - - - > Dr. Cabral’s “Big 5” Lab Tests (This package includes the 5 labs Dr. Cabral recommends all people run in his private practice) - - - > View all Functional Medicine lab tests (View all Functional Medicine lab tests you can do right at home for you and your family!)

Did you know that both good and bad fats play a huge role in the development of your visual system and brain? Douglas W. Stephey, O.D., M.S discusses the power fish oil supplements have in changing the course of inflammation in our body and brain. The arachidonic (pro-inflammatory) and eicosapentaenoic (anti-inflammatory) acid levels will be discussed: how to measure them and how to reverse this ratio when elevated. Douglas W. Stephey, O.D., M.S. 208 West Badillo St Covina, CA 91723 Phone: 626-332-4510 Website: http://bit.ly/DouglasWStephey Website Videos: http://bit.ly/DrStepheyOptometryVideos The Move Look & Listen Podcast is brought to you in part, by Audible - get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/InBound If interested in producing a podcast of your own, like the Move Look & Listen Podcast, contact Tim Edwards at tim@InBoundPodcasting.com or visit www.InBoundPodcasting.com Transcription Below Tim Edwards: The Move Look and Listen Podcast with Dr. Doug Stephey is brought to you by audible. Get a free audio book download and a 30 day free trial audible membership www.audibletrial.com/inbound. You'll find over 180,000 titles to choose from, including several books mentioned here in the podcast. Support the Move Look & Listen Podcast by visiting www.audibletrial.com/inbound.  Dr. Stephey: If our two eyes are not working together well as a fast synchronized team, our internal mapquest continues to be off. It's consistently inconsistent with our ability to judge time and space. Those that don't feel well-grounded, those that have some measure of anxiety, oftentimes it starts in the visual system. If you can't move, look and listen in a fast, accurate, effortless, sustainable, age appropriate, meaningful way, you're in a world of hurt. There's a whole world in vision and how it affects brain function that no one's ever shared with you. 20/20 is perceived as a holy grail of going to the eye doctor. Well, I'm here to change that paradigm.  Tim Edwards: This is episode eight of the Move Look and Listen, Podcast with Dr Doug. Stephey. You know, we've talked about a lot of things in this podcast, Dr. Stephey and today we're going to tie in vision and nutrition. So for those that maybe have just stumbled across Apple Podcasts or whatever platform they're listening to their podcast, they're probably wondering, what in the heck do these two have in common? And you've alluded to them several times. You've more than alluded, you've discussed them in detail in several previous episodes. But today we're going into fish oil, right? How fish oil, in particular, or omega-3's can help  your vision and other aspects of your being.  Dr. Stephey: Yeah, that's right Tim. So let's launch off into this. omega-3's, they are a big deal. There's one theory about human development that goes back, what, 20, 30, 40,000 or so years.   There's one theory that says that when humans started eating the seafood diet, the size of our brain exploded in size. Arguably that's the theory of human development. There's two theories that I've heard about why we have the brains that we do today. One is the amount of mega three fatty acids that we used to eat and the other was man's ability to use tools. Because using tools requires a concept called motor planning and motor sequencing, which ties to that millisecond timing clock that we were talking about last episode. But motor planning and sequencing, it is a platform for speech and language and eye movement control and auditory processing and cognitive abilities. All starting through motor planning and motor sequencing. So omega-3's, as people may or may not know, is the long chain fatty acid associated with fish oil and there's a ratio called the AA to EPA ratio, arachidonic acid to eicosapentaenoic acid levels. And the phenomenal thing about this ratio is that very few physicians actually seem to know or talk about it. And I tell you that because I was in to see my family physician a few weeks ago who didn't seem to know a lot about the AA/EPA ratio .  Dr. Stephey: I have a couple of brain injury recovery patients in my practice who have gone back and asked their neuro rehab doctors about this ratio. They didn't seem to know anything about it. Another patient of mine had a stroke last summer. She's in her late forties. She went back and talked to her cardiologist about this ratio. He didn't know anything about it but at least was interested to read and I talked to a friend of mine who's an ER physician back in Michigan who didn't seem to know a lot about it. And I'm stunned.  Tim Edwards: Flabbergasted. I think maybe because like you said, it's a big deal. You talk about brain development and overall health and yet these physicians know nothing about it.  Dr. Stephey: I remember about probably going back 15, 20 years when I first started to read about omega-3 fatty acid. There was a handful of pregnant women at the time in my practice and I said, hey, has your baby doctor talked to you about omega-3 fatty acids in your diet?  Dr. Stephey: Like, no, what are you talking about? I'm like, you should be taking  omega-3 fatty acids. You should've been taken them six months before you consider getting pregnant.  Tim Edwards: The baby doctor was probably talking about folic acid.  Dr. Stephey: Not omega-3s, and unlike if you don't believe me, just go do a google search for prenatal development and omega-3s. Or infant development and omega-3s. But at the time, this was not being discussed. I'm pretty sure today, most infant formulas have some measurable form of EPA or DHA in them.  Tim Edwards: Because we're talking about the development of the brain and their unborn child from the get go.  Dr. Stephey: Yes, I'm telling you if and when my daughters ever decide they're going to have kids. We're having a long talk about lungs. Six months before you need to be up in your omega-3 game in preparation for being a feeding tube for a newborn.   Tim Edwards: Right. Dr. Stephey: So omega-6 fatty acids versus omega-3 fatty acids. That's the ratio that we're really talking about today relative to what's happening in our blood and in our body dictated by the food we put in it. And the reality is that between vegetable oils and trans fats and processed foods, we're getting way more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s. And omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory and omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. And there's a long biochemical pathway that goes from omega-6 fatty acids in our diet to arachidonic acid, that's the pathway. Or omega-3s to eicosapentaenoic acid, which is the anti inflammatory pathway. But now we're talking about what is that ratio in our diet? Well, I suppose the idealistic ratio would be one to one. But three to one or two to one is acceptable and considered still really good.  Dr. Stephey: So you might have three times as many omega-6s in your diet as omega-3s, but that's still considered good. No, that's better than good. So the Standard American Diet.. Tim Edwards: The SAD diet. Dr. Stephey: The SAD diet because in so many ways. The sad and pitiful, I'm going to be sick way before my time diet.  Tim Edwards: And if you don't mind me throwing a plug in for another podcast on the Inbound Podcasting Network, it's the Vibrant Living Wellness Center podcast and we go into the s-a-d or sad diet in great detail.  Dr. Stephey: I can't tell people to learn enough about it because there is a dearth of information people just don't know. And the more that they learn, the more that they're likely to change their behavior. And if you don't know, some years ago, the church I was going to, the pastor said one day said, "you know what," he said, "I've learned over the years that people aren't likely to change their behavior unless they have enough knowledge that stares them to do so, or they hurt enough that they need to change their behavior.  Tim Edwards: Great nugget of wisdom for sure. Unfortunately we all wait till we hurt enough. At least I do.  Dr. Stephey: Well and sadly further is that there are a lot of people today, both in emotional and physical pain that don't have to be, because they don't know this information and they have just come to accept that hurting this much is the way their balance of their life is going to be. And it does not have to be that way.  Tim Edwards: And so circling back Dr. Stephey, I think I derailed you a little bit and I apologize with my comment about the SAD diet, but you were going into omega-3s and omega-6 and the ratios.  Dr. Stephey: Yes. So, the Standard American Diet, I read this a couple of different ways now. The typical American has an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of somewhere between 15 and 20:1.  Tim Edwards: Wow.  Dr. Stephey: And it's supposed to be 3:1 or better.  Tim Edwards: Have you ever had yours checked?  Dr. Stephey: I did.  Tim Edwards: Your markers?  Dr. Stephey: So my story is that I had my, AA to EPA ratio checked in September of 2016 and it was 9.8. Higher than four and less than 10 was considered goods.  Tim Edwards: So you were borderline good, barely.  Dr. Stephey: I had convinced myself that, oh look at me, I'm under 10.  Tim Edwards: A 9.8.  Dr. Stephey: So I don't really have to do that much about this.  Tim Edwards: You know what, that's a common tale for most of us. I'm sure. I'm in the range! I'm good! But that was in 2016, right?  Dr. Stephey: That was in 2016 and I don't know who's the worst patient. The patient who doesn't know what they should be doing and doesn't do it because they don't know. Or me because I know what I'm supposed to be doing and I don't always do it.  Tim Edwards: That's the worst patient.  Dr. Stephey: I was hoping you'd get me some slack on it.  Tim Edwards: I know, but you know what? Because I'm like you. I mean we're all that way. I mean, you know, we like our comforts unfortunately. But they can become deadly.  Dr. Stephey: Well, you know, here's what I talk about with patients all the time in my practice and then we'll get back really to the topic at hand but this is related to that. Indeed we will definitely get to how this ties into vision, but this is good foundational information. So when you say we like the foods, we like. Well let's be clearer about that. It's not even us that like the foods we eat, it's the bad bacteria in our GI tract. There is a continuous battle in our gut, in the microbiome or the bacterial population that lives there. So that is a good versus evil discussion.  Dr. Stephey: Bad bacteria loves sugar and simple carbohydrates. There's some research that has made the argument that sugar is more addictive than cocaine.  Tim Edwards: Yes, I've heard that, read that, discussed that many times before.  Dr. Stephey: And that proteins in wheat and proteins in dairy act in the brain on the same receptors that opiates do. So when this bad bacteria drives these cravings, it's not even us that really wants that. It's the bad bacteria. And the bad bacteria says to you as it's living host, you know what, I don't care if you get diabetes and lose a limb. I don't care if you get MS or Lupus. I don't care if you have asthma or respiratory disease and need an oxygen tank to carry around. I don't care if you get arthritis as long as you're feeding me sugar and carbohydrates, I'm okay with you being really sick for 40 years.  Dr. Stephey: That is not right.  Tim Edwards: No, but we listen to it so we need to stop. Right? But how do we do that? Is it, is the answer in the omega-3s?  Dr. Stephey: omega-3s I think do play a role in that. And I'll give you an example. So if we talk about that 15:21 ratio, 15 to 20:1 ratio, that means that we're producing way more arachidonic acid in our body than eicosapentaenoic acid, which means that our immune system is highly inflamed. Virtually every cell in our body now is on fire. That is not the way to go about your business. It physically hurt. Your brain hurts. You are more at risk for developing a mood regulating disorder. You're more likely going to have a learning disability. You're more likely going to get diagnosed with ADHD or ADD. This unchecked, runaway, unchecked inflammation is wreaking havoc on us every day and we don't have to have it be that way.  Dr. Stephey: So to go back to my own story, 9.8, I convinced myself it was pretty good. I wasn't taking enough omega-3s as I should have been. And then I had a physical earlier in the year and I've had some issues with my blood sugar being too high. And I'm like, oh, homies not doing that, no. Tim Edwards: Yeah, we're not going there.  Dr. Stephey: So, I decided.  Tim Edwards: You're talking about potential prediabetic?  Dr. Stephey: I was beyond prediabetes. My physician said, Doug, you're now type 2 diabetic, and I'm like, no I don't. I'm not doing that. So the first thing I decided was if my omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio should be less than four to one then I'm on it. And Tim, I started taking six to 9,000 milligrams a day of EPA and DHA.  Tim Edwards: Now tell me, what is the daily recommended dose?  Dr. Stephey: Well, that's an interesting question and it's why we're doing this podcast because pretty much you got to have a Ph.D. in fish oil to make any sense out of what the heck is going on and what should I be doing?  Dr. Stephey: So when you typically go to the store and pick up a bottle of fish oil and and especially if it's a capsule, it's likely going to say serving size is one capsule and one capsule is usually a thousand milligram capsule. So the first discussion that I have with patients is, are you taking an omega-3? Invariably, the answer is no, but on the rare case that somebody is taking an omega-3, I say, how many milligrams of EPA and DHA are you taking? And they say, I don't know. Okay, how many capsules do you take a day? Well, I take one because that's what the bottle says. All right, well I need you to go home and look at your bottle and report back to me in the thousand milligram capsule. How many actual milligrams of EPA and DHA are in that thousand milligrams because you're not taking a thousand milligrams of EPA and DHA.  Dr. Stephey: I'll tell you that right now because every brand is different. And then I play a numbers game and I say, well, we don't know what you'r AA/EPA ratio is at this point. We could talk about you ordering a test to get it done, but we don't know. But let's say conservatively that you should be taking 3000 milligrams a day. Well, if you were getting a full thousand milligrams of EPA and DHA in that capsule, then you should be taking three capsules a day. But if you go home and your capsule says, oh, this only has 500 milligrams of EPA and Dha, well to get to 3000, you should be taking six of those a day. And if you're a capsule says it's got a 100 milligrams of EPA and DHA in it, then you ought to be taking the 30 of those a day.  Tim Edwards: So not all fish oil is created equal by any means.  Dr. Stephey: Oh, good gracious. No, Tim, there are some commercial official products that when you look at the EPA and DHA content, there are no numbers. They just have little tiny asterisk. Tim Edwards: Oh, boy. So then you're just wasting your money.  Dr. Stephey: So, my AA/EPA ratio, September 2016 was 9.8 and I mentioned that I got diagnosed recently with type 2 diabetes. That I'm going to reverse and mostly have at this juncture. And it's, we're barely three and a half, four months into the diagnosis.  Tim Edwards: Right, you were a 9.8 and 10 was the back end of normal.  Dr. Stephey: 10 was the back end of good.  Tim Edwards: Back end of good.  Dr. Stephey: But 3 to 1 or less was ideal. This is where we all should be. So, I up my fish oil intake and within 60 days and I had my retesting done, it came down to 3 to 1.  Tim Edwards: Oh wow. Amazing! Tim Edwards: Based upon the appropriate amount of omega-3s that you should be taking. Dr. Stephey: Yes. Tim, and I'm glad you said it in that manner because it prompted a memory for me and that is what is an appropriate amount? Because people will often, we talk about this in the office and people say, well what should I be taking? I say, what's your AA/EPA ratio? They're like, what the heck is that? And I'm like, well it's this and this is how you measure it.  Tim Edwards: Yeah. Because the doses cannot be consistent for everybody in any type of medication or any type of supplement.  Dr. Stephey: Right.  Tim Edwards: The doses are different. So, the, the first step for someone to find out their levels, their markers is what?  Dr. Stephey: The first thing to do is get the AA/EPA ratio measured and we'll include a link on a test about how to do that so that you can go read about this test availability and that it's not that hard to get measured.  Doug Stephey: And the kit that I'm talking about is something that can be sent home to you. You take a fingerstick, collect a few drops of blood and you send it off to this lab and then usually within about 10 days, maybe two weeks, we've got these results back. We've got something tangible to discuss.  Tim Edwards: Yeah you've got a benchmark to work with and it's, can I say the name of it?  Dr. Stephey: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.  Tim Edwards: The reason being, because I did it the other day and I'm awaiting my results and I can't wait and this is a service provided through Dr. Stephey. So we'll include a link and then they could just go through you. It's called BrainSpan Laboratories. BrainSpan, cell health assessment. The health of your cells dictate the health of your entire body and we're talking about attention, memory, anxiety and stress, chronic nerve pain and inflammation, weight management and metabolism, soft tissue and musculoskeletal injuries.  Tim Edwards: I mean this test covers a wide range of markers for us to start from and then once we get the test back, then we can make some adjustments.  Dr. Stephey: And that's because cellular inflammation affects every cell in our body. And let's go back to the appropriate dosage because as an example, one of the books that I read some years ago called The Omega-3 Connection written by a physician named Andrew Stole. He's a neuropsychiatrist who specialize bipolar disorder. And in his book he said, look, I've done this research. We have patients with bipolar disorder who are on maximum medical therapy who still have wild mood swings until we put them on high dose pharmaceutical grade fish oil at the range of 10, 12, 14,000 milligrams a day. So if you've got a mood behavior disorder, odds are that you need high dose fish oil because of the cellular inflammation.  Dr. Stephey: Most likely driven by the way that you're eating and that you're getting way too many omega-6s in your diet and your body and brain is on fire. I've got other research that I've read where they took a group of kids, broke them into two. The experimental group and a control group, so they kept them in the same curriculum. The only thing they did, Tim, was to give the kids in the experimental group, 16,000 milligrams of fish oil a day for I think it was 20 weeks and over the 20 weeks I'm not and I'm not telling people to go out and do that much. I'm just telling you this research, but over the 20 weeks periodically, I don't know, at the six and eight week mark, maybe the 14th week mark, 16th and 20th, something like that. They will go back and measure these kids reading skills and the kids on the fish oil their reading outcomes.  Dr. Stephey: Just start climbing and going through the roof and the only thing they've done is up their fish oil intake. Now the the brain has the second highest concentration of fats in our body. Only behind the retina which has the highest concentration of fats in our body, and that's how this nutrition, omega-3 fatty acid vision piece ties together pretty much every cell membrane in our body is made up of a phospholipid layer, water and fat. And to get nutrients into a cell and waste products out of the cell, it has to go through these cell membranes. And your body's going to make these cell membranes out of whatever fat you consume the most of. So if you're consuming too much of bad fats, the cell membranes in your wall are made of like solid brick instead of the semi-porous membrane that nutrients and waste products can go back and forth between.  Dr. Stephey: It honestly it isn't any more difficult than what I've just said.  Tim Edwards: It's very simple for us to understand that the only challenge will be to make the shift, but it doesn't seem like it's that hard of a shift to take the appropriate amount of fish oil. I mean really. It seems like every episode we have this, this crazy astronomical problem and you're like, and we can fix it with this. It's been in front of our face the whole time. Yet we didn't even know it was there.  Dr. Stephey: And you know, sometimes it's about that simple. Even though the podcast and a lot of what I talk about is Move Look & Listen, what I didn't speak clearly about in that triad is the nutrition piece. But it is a discussion with every patient that I have.  Tim Edwards: Well it sounds like nutrition is a major component in all three of those triads in that, in that triad.  Dr. Stephey: Well, it has to be right because if your brain is going to train itself to develop a new skill or a better skill or a skill you didn't have, it can only do that if it's got the nutritional building blocks to be able to benefit from the training or the therapy that you're going to be doing. So yes, there are limits to what my vision therapy protocols can do. If you're eating a really bad diet and you're not willing to change it. Now, I'm not saying you won't make gains, but you won't make the gains that you should have and you won't lead the life that you should have and you won't feel like you should if you continue to eat a crappy diet and don't change those outcomes. And tied to that again, we got to reduce the inflammation in your body and brain.  Dr. Stephey: We've got to get the good bacteria to out populate the bad bacteria in your GI track and this has wide ranging implications. I don't care if you're 90-years-old and have dementia or Alzheimer's. Or if you're an infant who's just now developing their nervous system, including brain and body and auditory processing and motor controls skills. Yet truly we are what we eat. Dot, dot, dot. We are what we're able to digest. So even if you eat really well, but your GI tract is a train wreck, you're not absorbing what you're eating and your body can't use it and it does not have to be that way. And I am happy to be an agent of change to help you get back on track and know the value of these omega-3 fatty acids and how they affect your brain and vision. Tim Edwards: Thank you for listening to the Move Look & Listen Podcast with Dr. Doug Stephey brought to you by audible. Get a free audio book download and a 30 day free trial of audible membership at audibletrial.com/inbound. You'll find over 180,000 titles to choose from, including books mentioned here in the Move Look & Listen podcasts. You can listen to these books through your iphone, your android, your kindle, your computer, or even an MP3 player. And if for any reason and at any time you choose to cancel your membership, you keep all of your audio book, downloads. Give it a shot for 30 days. You got nothing to lose. Support the Move Look & Listen podcast by visiting audibletrial.com/inbound. We will include a link for your convenience, in the show notes of this and every episode of the podcast. And of course if you like some more information regarding Dr. Stephey's practice or to make an appointment, we will include links in the show notes to Dr. Stephey's website and his youtube channel.  Tim Edwards: Dr. Stephey's website is stepheyoptometry.com. That's s t e p h e y optometry.com. You can also call the office at 626-332-4510. Again, all of Dr. Stephey's contact information will be included in the show notes of each and every episode. One last request before we let you go on to the next episode, please subscribe to the podcast from whichever platform you might be listening in. Of course, it is free to subscribe and it ensures that every time we post a new episode, you'll find it right there waiting for you to listen in your podcast app of choice. We really do appreciate your listening and until next time for Dr. Stephey of the Move Look & Listen podcast. I'm Tim Edwards with the Inbound Podcasting Network.