So there seems to be an Omega-3 Fatty acid craze going on right now.  Every time I get on CNN Health or Dr. Oz these days there is always something new I hear and learn about this subject.  I thought I would look into it a bit more and share what Ive read.  To be honest I didn’t really know much going in.  All I knew was that my Mom always said to make sure I have my Flax Seed everyday because it was good for me.

So what are Omega-3 Fatty Acids and why are they so good for you?

Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats found naturally in oily fish, nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables. Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to protect against heart disease, inflammation, certain types of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and macular degeneration (a leading cause of vision loss). Omega-3 fatty acids are critical for proper brain development and neurological function in developing babies, too.  They are often classed as “essential fatty acids”, meaning that they are necessary for our health and that our bodies are unable to produce them.   There is a great article on WebMD that talks about how to best get your Omega-3.  Many think the easiest and low-cal way to get them is through fish oil capsules.  Not so according to one nutritionist they interviewed on the subject.  Lona Sandon RD a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association said:

“There is something about whole food that when it goes into the body it’s more than 90% absorbed, while [with] a supplement you absorb only about 50%,” says Sandon.

Moreover, says Sandon, because the components of different foods work together, they may offer a more complete and balanced source of nutrients.

“It could be something more than just the omega-3s in fish that make it so healthy,” says Sandon. “It could be the amino acids that provide benefits we are not going to see in fish-oil supplements alone.”

There are many great articles written about this subject.  Here are a few links if you would like to research it more.

http://www.healthcastle.com/omega3.shtml

http://ask.doctoroz.com/question/adding-fatty-acids-to-diet

Do you read the labels on your food?  And if you do, do you know what they mean? “Early Show” contributor Katie Lee explains what “grass fed”, “free-roaming” and other terms mean.   And I think its about time!

As the organic movement and the locally grown movement and the sustainable foods movements all gain acceptance, we, the consumer, are left to try and decipher it all.

So here are 6 basic nutritional concepts to keep in mind:

1.  Why eat Organic? There are several benefits to incorporating organic foods into your diet, but the number one reason is to Reduce The Amount of Dangerous Pesticides you Ingest.

2. What are the “Dirty Dozen”?  I wrote about this on a recent blog, but the Dirty Dozen are a group of vegetables shown to have the highest pesticide count.  These are the vegetables you should consider replacing with organic choices.  These foods include apples, lettuce, strawberries, peaches and grapes.

3. What are the “Clean 15″?  These are the fruits and vegetables shown to have the lowest pesticide count.  They include asparagus, pineapples, broccoli, sweet potatoes and tomato.

4. What is Organic Chicken? Chicken that has never been given antibiotics or hormones and have only been fed organic grains, (grains grown without pesticides or chemicals).

5. Wild caught fish are nutritionally far superior to farm raised fish.

6.  “Whole Grains” are more complete and therefore better for you than “multi grain”. Whole grain means you are getting every part of the grain and therefore all of the fiber benefits.  Multigrain simply means various grains, and more commonly, multiple forms of the stripped down refined forms of the grain.

For more nutritional information, visit my nutritional blog.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be presenting an enlightening report June 2 and 3 at 8pm on CNN, titled “Toxic America”.  The report centers around a recent study which revealed that children exposed to higher levels of a type of pesticide found on commercially grown fruits and vegetables, are more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children with less exposure.

WOW! I reported in a recent blog about the “Dirty Dozen” foods that should be replaced by Organic Foods in your diet.  I touched on the 12 foods that have been shown to contain the highest level of pesticides, and what that exposure could mean to your long term health.  Now the science is starting to come out.

I find it fascinating that only recently have the really smart people started asking the truly critical questions.

-Why has there been such an increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancers?

-Why have so many children been recently diagnosed as ADHD?

-Despite the vast improvements in the health and medical sciences, why are heart disease and diabetes rates continuing to increase?

The answers may be staring us in the face.  I would argue that we have yet to truly understand the damaging effects of a poor diet, lack of exercise, increased stress and environmental toxins.

I would urge you to watch the upcoming CNN specials and if you would like to read the CNN article in its entirety, click here.

Maybe you heard…fruits and vegetables are BAD for you!! OK, that may be a bit aggressive.  But if you are one of those people who questions this whole organic food movement, or why people are being advised to buy organic foods, you should read the recent article posted on The Today Show and MSNBC.com.

As I like to do from time to time, I am going to require people to think a little outside the box.  Researchers and experts agree on one thing, they don’t know conclusively what causes cancer and several other life altering diseases.  But there is a growing suspicion that environmental factors such as food, water and air may play a larger role than we have ever thought.

(For those of you already snickering, ask yourself this question, “Would rather eat a fish out of clean, fresh water, or a fish directly out of the Potomac River?” If you are not familiar with the Potomac River, it is now against the law to walk or swim in many parts of the Potomac because it is that unhealthy.)

If we can at least agree that environmental factors can play a role in long term health, then the next logical question must be, “How healthy is it to ingest a poison who’s sole purpose is to kill other bugs and animals?”

Buying organic fruits and vegetables insures that the following fruits and vegetables are free of dangerous pesticides and are being purchased fresh and while in season:

DIRTY DOZEN

1. Apples

2. Cherries

3.  Grapes, Imported (Chili)

4. Nectarines

5. Peaches

6. Pears

7. Raspberries

8. Strawberries

9. Bell Peppers

10. Celery

11. Potatoes

12. Spinach

I am well aware that the information is a bit overwhelming, but the article does a pretty good job of cutting through alot of the confusion and distortion.  As it relates to toxic pesticides on our fruit, the US Department of Agriculture found these 12 fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher levels of pesticides than others.  More disconcerting is that even with rigorous washing, these fruits and vegetables STILL contain unacceptable levels of pesticide residue.

Start educating yourself about the benefits of organic foods, as well as how to best shop for and budget for organic foods.

CNN Health has a great article this week about spring cleaning your diet.  With the warmer spring weather finally upon us what better time than to get rid of the heavier winter foods that we enjoyed so much while we were cooped up inside, and replace them with springtime fruits and veggies!  The article highlights 10 of them and lets you know the best time to purchase from your local farmers market.http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/14/spring.clean.diet/index.html

I’m also including the Arlington Farmers Market Schedule for this season!

http://www.arlingtonva.us/portals/topics/FarmersMarkets.aspx