Added sugars, processed food can't exist without

Critique of an article written by John S. White, White Technical Research in Food Processing Magazine 3/10

It shouldn't be surprising that Food Processing Magazine, a magazine focused on food manufacturers and processors, published an article touting that high-fructose corn syrup and other added sugars are not the primary cause of obesity.

I agree with the author, eating too many calories and not getting enough exercise is causing the alarming rates of obesity across America. That said, I am trying to avoid or severely limit my intake of high-fructose corn syrup and other 'added sugars' both because of calories but also - and perhaps more importantly - because I don't know the impact of these chemical sweetners on my body.

The process that brings about high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is described as a 'corn wet milling process'. I don't know what that is but I do know, HFCS is different from just being corn syrup because of a chemical reaction that takes place. Making HFCS changes corn syrup molecularly. That's not natural, that's what I worry about (see previous post on HFCS).

The fact that other 'added sugars' such as sucrose (table sugar), fruit juice concentrate, honey, agave nectar are put through a similar 'milling process' to refine the raw botanical material into a 'robust and versatile sweetener that can be formulated into a wide range of foods and beverages' doesn't calm my nerves.

High-intensity sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia provide the same sweetness intensity at extremely smaller proportions (hundreths to thousandths will do the trick compared to 'added sugars'). These high-intensity sweeteners do little else but sweeten.

What else can you demand of a sweetner? It turns out that added sugars, the author John White adds, "support yeast fermentations, structure and texture building, surface browning and aroma development, flavor enhancement, sweet-acid balance, unpleasant flavor masking, freezing point control, microbial stability, minimize freeze-thaw damage, extended product shelf life and provide additional valuable, under-appreciated product contributions."

I never thought of recipe creation as delivering such objectives as 'flavor masking' and 'microbial stability', but okay I understand that to manufacture food that sits on a shelf or in a freezer for some period of time you need to be concerned with these objectives.

Up til now, I scrupulously avoided HFCS cheerfully accepting sucrose, honey and fruit juice concentrate in the food I eat. Now I'm questioning any use of 'added sugars'. I'm told that by this article that the American Medical Assn., the American Dietetic Assn., and other expert scientists say there is little difference in composition, calories and metabolism between 'added sugars.' Since I don't like the process that creates HFCS, I question what's being done to more natural sounding sugars. It's the process I fear and how 'refining the raw botanical material into a robust and versatile sweetener' mixes things up making something that sounds natural, unnatural.

Olive oil less fattening than butter?

Olive oil is the loser in calories: olive oil vs butter, unfortunately 120 vs 100 calories per tablespoon.

So why is olive oil getting all this good PR. It's because it has healthy mono-unsaturated fat. You need some fat in your diet. It's better to go healthier with olive oil than butter which contains artery clogging saturated fat. Even olive oil should be used with a light hand, it's still a fat.

Source: HealthyStyle - Parade magazine 3/10

3 routines to reduce child obesity

4-year-olds that had 3 simple routines had a 40% lower prevalence of obesity. The 3 routines are:

1. Eating dinner as a family 5x a week
2. Getting enough sleep
3. Limiting TV time

The finding comes from new research from the National center for Eduction Statistics. Also found in the survey, adopting one of these routines will benefit the child but the strongest results were seen when all three routines were followed.

Source: HealthStyle - Parade Magazine 3/10

Relieve anxiety with stress

I know this without a doubt, going to the gym relieves stress for me.

It turns out my belief is supported by a study done by the University of Georgia that found that people who exercise regularly can greatly reduce their level of stress. The people studied were suffering from a chronic medical condition ranging from heart disease to cancer.

The benefits weighed in at a 20% reduction in anxiety and the benefits were evident in just 3 to 12 weeks.

Source: HealthyStyle - Parade Magazine 3/10

Reusing water bottles

I've held back buying one of those aluminum water bottles thinking my plastic one is just fine. I'm recycling!

Looks like I'm buying a water bottle.

Florida physician Dr. Sasson E. Moulavi says "certain bottles may release chemicals into the water if left in sunlight or used repeatedly."

And if that wasn't bad enough, higher levels of bacteria were found in water bottles that were refilled in a University of Calgary study.

Source: Healthy Style - Parade Magazine 3/10

Processed food: fruit

When did it become hard to get kids to eat fresh fruits?

Betty Crocker has brought "Fruit by the Foot Flavor Kickers" a fruit flavored (both "naturally and artifically flavored") snack to the market. Each ribbon-like foot long shape has 80 calories. The package says it is low in fat and a good source of vitamin C.

The packaging implies that the snack is good for you like fruit, but a look at the label says the fruit snack offers very little by way of nutrition.

How easy would it be for someone to think their child is getting a serving a fruit from one of these snacks?

Sodium: a food processor's view point

79% of consumers don't know how much sodium is acceptable in their diets, according to a recent study of 800 consumers by Health Focus International (HFI), St. Petersburg, Fla.

The recommended daily intake is 1,500mg* to 2,400mg. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans consume about 50 percent more than recommended by USDA Guidelines.

It doesn't take much to consume too much. One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300mg of sodium.

Most of the survey respondents reported that they monitor sodium intuitively by avoiding certain foods or categories (such as french fries, hamburgers and chicken from a fast-food restaurant and, at the retail level, frozen meals, cured/processed meats, savory snacks and canned soups).

The survey showed that consumers are interested in purchasing lower sodium products, but with the added caveat, they want the food to taste just as good. Most consumers recognize foods high in sodium, but only one-third are likely to avoid these foods.

As consumers, we're not making it easy for food manufacturers. In a 2007 study Unilever gave a panel of consumers two identical samples of Lipton Cup-a-Soup and were told one had 25 percent less sodium. The majority of respondents said the soup labeled as low-salt tasted inferior.

As a general rule, consumers will not accept large cuts in salt levels when the taste is too different from the familiar product they've known.

Sodium is critical for food safety and product stability. Salt can provide multiple functions. For example, in bread, salt enhances taste, strengthens gluten and moderates yeast activity

Alternatives include: potassium chloride which provides saltiness, but it has a metallic taste which limits its replacing salt. Masking agents are available to help suppress this off-tastes.

In processed food, sodium can come from different flavoring or texturizing agents, so you have to really understand all the nuances of any ingredients being added to understand your salt intake.

The ultimate thing consumers want is a one-to-one replacement that doesn't affect taste and price. Food manufacturers are finding it hard to meet the challenge.

Source: Food Processing.com 3/10

*1,500mg per day for people with high-blood pressure, blacks and those over 40 years old.

Smart Snacking Kids

When your child wants a snack, what do they eat? And what can you learn about your child's snacking to benefit yours?

The answer is important for kids need good fuel for their bodies -- both in quality and quantity.

Are your kids snacking healthily? According to a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs, the last 25 years has seen the number of snacks eaten and the number of calories in that snack increase. More than 27% of calories consumed by kids come from snacks.

No surprise, sugary foods are the top choice by far. The study showed that "the largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks."

Healthy snacks are a terrific way to satisfy hunger and get needed vitamins and nutrients, without adding pounds. This was shown in a study conducted by the Baylor College of Medicine showing how Mexican-American overweight adolescents, lost weight while substituting an ounce of peanuts or peanut butter for other less healthy snack choices.

It's important for parents to pay attention to the quality AND quantity of snacks.

Here a few tips for the after school food rush.

1. Power combos keep kids functioning at their best, combine whole grain carbohydrates with protein-rich foods.
   - string cheese or yogurt for calcium and protein
   - whole-wheat toast with nut butters
   - homemade trail mix made with dried berries and peanuts for antioxidants and healthy fats.
2. Read labels with your kids, teach them that the word "natural" does not always mean nutritious. After all sugar is an "all natural" ingredient.
3. Make healthy snacking fun. Set out a dish of strawberries or some sliced apples, a bowl of yogurt, and some chopped peanuts. Snack by dipping the fruit into the yogurt and sprinkle with peanuts.

Source: Sarita's Sensations, an enewsletter from the Latin Nutrition Organization.

Constipation, how to avoid

Uncomfortable and sometimes inconvenient, constipation is bothersome at best and a symptom of another health problem at worst. The experts at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota suggest the following lifestyle changes to ease most constipation concerns.*

1. Eat more fiber - 20 to 35 grams a day. Eat more beans, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
2. Drink more water - the 8 glasses a day regimen which will soften your stool and help digest the extra fiber.
3. Do more exercise - something moderately intense for 30 minutes a day.

If the above doesn't help and over the counter treatments don't help, see your doctor.

*Source: Family Circle 4/10

Frugality and excess, lethal combination

Shopping a Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club brings out two emotions that normally don't surface together: frugality and excess. That's the only way to describe a purchase of a 5 lb bag of baking soda or a 5 lb tub of fake cheese spread.

The normal person wouldn't use up the baking soda in a life time of deodorizing refrigerators and we all know the toll at the scale if someone ate up a tub of lard, um I mean fake cheese spread.

But the baking soda, the fake cheese spread along with gigantic sacks of cheezie doodles and thousands (4,000 items to be exact in a Costco) of other gigantically packaged items, are inexpensive and most of the time, down right cheap. Too cheap to pass up as American pantries filled to the gills will attest to.

We neither feel deprived by our frugality nor guilty about our excess, brilliant merchandising.

Yes one needs to scour one's sink, then 6 containers of Comet it is. The thing is, I keep a kitchen and 2 bathrooms pretty clean, I can't remember the last time I bought a container of Comet. And Comet is what I use at least once a week in all of these rooms.

But we have to find these values or - better said - we have to find the items in these stores valuable, don't we, to make up for the annual membership fee. It's $50 at Costco. Seems odd to pay for the privilege of shopping, anywhere.

You're in a situation where saving money is dependent on spending money. That can impair your judgement. It's impulse shopping that's not a buck for a pack of gum at the cash register.

I've concluded that buying less will cost more per unit item but less for what you really should be using.

You are getting sleepy

Having trouble going to sleep and staying asleep? Here are some tips.

• Make bedtime relaxation time with an exercise
  1. Focus on your breathing, inhale for a count of 5, hold for 10, exhale for 5. During exhale, rest the tip of your tongue just behind your front teeth. This will make your exhale sound like a swooshing sound. Repeat 4 times.
  2. Focus on your muscles, lying down close your eyes and take 4 deep breaths. Start at the top of your head, focus on what you feel there. If your head feels any kind of stress or is tense, in your mind let it go. Do this for every major part of your body


• Make sense of stress.
  Get out paper or laptop and write what you feel, what you think, maybe even what you'd do to get rid of it.


• Watch what you eat.
  Okay we know no caffeine or sugar x number of hours before bed (as I get older x gets smaller). But other foods may have the same effect and you don't realize it. If you don't sleep one night and the next you do, write down what you intake and compare notes. I used to have a small glass of wine every so often at night. I come to realize on night I do drink, I'm wide awake at 2am. If you suspect certain food to have a negative impact on your sleep, go without for a week and see if your sleep gets better.


• Get up and move
  When the body hasn't been active enough to want sleep, you don't sleep well. Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.


• Pay attention to dreams
  Write down your dreams. Once your unconscious self knows you're paying attention, it will dream more regularly and with greater depth. Dreams let your sleep go beyond restorative and becomes a opportunity for growth.

source: How to Sleep Better article in Body&Soul 2/10

Focus

Between family obligations and work demands, maintaining focus is tough in today's world. Our world overstimulates our brains. Technology has given us so many advances yet have only hasten the speed of our world. We've become more adrenaline-based: the need to answer that email immediately, text that message while we're driving, interrupt a conversation to take a cellphone call.

It's frying our focus. If you want to regain your focus, think about what problem area need the most help.

• Interruptions Continual interruptions can chop up your day eliminating long stretches of time that you can focus, concentrate, be creative. Once interrupted, it takes time to get back to the point you left off at.
  
  Turn off and make your feelings known. Turn off cellphone, email alerts and even the phone. At work, post a 'do not disturb' sign in the entry to your office, speak to people who may interrupt your work and ask them not to do so when the sign is posted. Explain why and you may see a 'copy-cat' or two in the office.
  


• Too much stress Feeling angry, worried or overwhelmed can shake your focus. If a 'stressor' makes us angry, we tend to narrow our focus and thus may miss important cues. Unable to see the larger picture, we can get stubborn, argumentative and critical (even self-critical). If we feel anxious and overwhelmed, our thoughts jumble or we freeze. We may do escape activities to avoid the symptoms but escapism doesn't rectify the problem.
  
  Three steps:
  1. Take 60 seconds to breathe helping to quench stress chemicals.
  2. Find your inner coach; think optimistic thoughts instead of downers.
  3. Compile a music list that make you feel great. Play it.
  


• Boredom We don't have enough time to be bored? But yet we do. We're accustomed to stimulating activities and our brains crave more. We've built a tolerance for stimulation.
  
  Limited multitasking can keep you focused and motivated during boring tasks. Click back and forth between one task to the other. The rapid switching can help you stay juiced. Make the 'other' task simple, like flexing your hands. Something that simple can keep you focused on the main job at hand.
  
  Certain jobs come naturally, absorbing our attention without much effort. You get into a groove. You intuitively know what to do and time passes quickly for you while doing it. Keep a diary and find what jobs put you in your groove. If bored, find a way to do your groove to get you back on track with other tasks.
  
  Do it differently, try a new approach. Focus on doing it as beautifully or as gracefully or as quietly as you can. Challenge yourself to find something to make the task more efficient.

Source: Regain Your Focus by Erin O'Donnell, Body&Soul Magazine 2/10

Good things come in small packages: flaxseed

A new analysis of 28 studies found flax seed to reduce total and LDL "bad" cholesterol. Flax seed may also help slow the growth of breast tumors in women and prostate cancer in men. All you need is two to three tablespoons a day to reap the benefits.

Keep it handy. I have a jar ready to sprinkle on oatmeal, casseroles, sandwiches and salads. But my friend Sarah regularly sneaks a couple of tablespoons into almost anything she cooks, including pasta, rice and cookies.

Cynthia Sass, RD says ground flax seeds are best. Ground flax seeds can be found at Whole Foods.

source: Readers Digest 4/10

Relying on vitamins to keep you healthy?

...Then you're believing too much of the supplement's advertising.

The 4/10 edition of the Readers' Digest reports that recent research suggests you're not getting any value for your money.

If you think a multivitamin can make up for a bad diet, press the reset button. From the Women's Health Initiative, the long-term study of more than 160,000 midlife women, the study shows women who take a multivitamin are no more healthier than those who don't when it comes to cancer, heart disease, stroke. Women with poor diets weren't helped by taking a multivitamin.

Vitamins made their successful entry into the market around the early 1900's when it hard to find fresh fruits and vegetables year-round. Vitamin deficiency was a problem. Vitamin D deficiency could cause bowed legs, rickets. A lack of the B vitamin niacin could cause skin problems and the mental confusion of pellagra. Nowadays with all the 'fortified' and vitamin-enriched processed foods out there, it would be difficult to be that deficient in a vitamin to have the above problems.

However, we could all stand to benefit from eating more produce. A supplement's not going to help us there. Multivitamins have plus or minus two dozen ingredients - but plants have hundreds of useful compounds. Plus plants have these compounds in natural combinations and proportions that make their usefulness easily ingested by our bodies.

The exception to the above is women of reproductive ages. Just call it insurance for a possible pregnancy. A woman who gets adequate amounts of the B vitamin folate is much less likely to have a baby with birth defects affecting the spinal cord. With the spinal cord forming early, perhaps so early that the woman doesn't know she's pregnant, it pays for her to take400 micrograms of folic acid (the synthetic form of folate) daily. Multivitamins usually have folic acid in them.

Unless you are a marathoner, skier or soldier on subarctic exercises, vitamin C isn't going to fight off getting a cold. The 2007 study was of 11,000 subjects. The study did show that taking the vitamin on a daily basis throughout the year can cut the length of colds (with a gotcha). So for the average adult, taking vitamin C can shorten the days they have cold symptoms from 12 to 11 a year. The gotcha? You can't start taking vitamin C when you feel a cold coming on to have the same effect. So is one less day a year with cold symptoms worth taking vitamin C pill year-round?

Some researchers observed that people who take vitamin supplements seem to avoid developing heart disease. At the time, researchers wrote cautiously about this phenomenon wondering if these observations reflected the 'healthy use effect' - meaning people who take vitamins are more likely to exercise, eat right and not smoke or drink a lot.

B vitamins seemed promising because folate, B6 and B12 help break down the amino acid homocysteine, high levels of which have been linked to heart disease. So does taking B vitamins help? Not according to recent studies.

What about beta-carotene? Studies determined that rather than prevent heart disease, those supplements produced a slight increase in the risk of death!

The American Heart Association says rather than take those supplements eat a varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

We know that unstable molecules called free radicals can damage the DNA of cells which increases the risk of cancer. Antioxidants can stabilize free radicals making them much less dangerous (in theory). However, no study has shown that taking supplements that provide antioxidants will protect you against cancer. Over several studies, taking a vitamin B combo, C, E or beta-carotene supplements did not help reducing your risk of cancer.

Are you still thinking hey, taking vitamins can't hurt? Studies have shown that taking antioxidant pills could actually promote cancer. Taking high doses of folic acid could rise the risk of colon cancer. Some studies suggest a connection between high doses of some vitamins and heart disease.

"Vitamins are safe when you get them in food, but in pill form, they can act more like a drug with the potential for unexpected and sometimes dangerous effects," says Demetrius Albanes, MD a nutritional epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute.

Vitamin D - looking good. Vitamin D protects against:

• For men, getting enough vitamin D have about half the risk of heart attack as men who are deficient.
• Overall, getting enough D appears to lower the risk of at least six cancers such as colorectal.

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. Sunlight makes it with your skin. With our sedimentary habits and sunscreen, we don't get enough vitamin D. Experts recommend you take 1,000 IU per day.

The spices of life

In recent studies, spices have proven to have an impact on the brain's mechanism for regulating appetite. It's in the brain's satiety center that sends out signals that you are full or you are hungry.

One aspect of spices can impact your feeling full is the spice's aroma. Aroma is a crucial factor in stimulating the satiety center sending out 'full' signals. The more aromatic the food, the stronger the signal the brain sends out to stop eating. Bland, easy-to-eat starches and carbohydrates like bread or pasta don't trigger these stimulates as easily.

Spices add flavor, flavor may replace flavor provided by fat and sugar. Fat as well as sugar adds flavor to dishes, chef's in restaurant are known for their heavy handed use of butter and cream because of this. It's not the chef's arteries getting hardened.

Spice makes your food taste better, you feel fuller sooner and you'll probably eat less fat and fewer sugars.

Spices have been shown to disinfect harmful bacteria and destroy food-borne microorganisms that would otherwise cause food poisoning.

In India, where spices are ubiquitous, spices play a vital nutritional role. Spices are packed with trace elements -micro nutrients that, though present only in minute quantities, are nevertheless essential to health. Even in the poorest parts of India, spices bring balance and variety to a diet that would be otherwise deficient.

Cinnamon for example is laden with proanthocyanidins which are powerful antioxidants that help protect against the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries.

Other benefits of select seasonings include:

• Reducing the amount of fat we absorb: ginger, garlic, fenugreek


• Increasing metabolic rate, burning fat faster: chili


• Slowing the growth of amyloid plaques in the brain, the small knots responsible for Alzheimer's disease (a disease practically unknown in turmeric-addicted India)*: turmeric


• Killing ovarian cancer cells**: ginger


• Helping with ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, depression and multiple sclerosis: ginger, pepper, cumin, cinnamon

*Study by the University of California, Los Angeles
**Study by the University of Michigan
Source: The Spice of Life article in Bon Appetit 3/09 issue

When it's got to be fries

Americans consume an average of 16 pounds of french fries every year.

A healthier alternative is sweet potato 'fries' (I'm suggesting baking vs. frying). Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and beta-carotene. And they are high in fiber.

Sales of frozen sweet potato fries and casseroles over the past year are up about 32%, 'white potato frozens' are up only 1.5%.

Convenience store meals and produce

If you're noticing more fruits, salads, sandwiches and other fresh ready-to-eat items at your local 7-11, WaWa (yes, stores were named this) and at your gas station, it's no mistake. Convenience stores have taken notice of the popularity of ready-to-eat items in grocery stores and trying to grab some of the market. Good news.

It makes sense, on-the-go customers will buy ready-to-eat food. A recent study by the Integer Group should that 27% of shoppers consider healthy food and fresh produce a reason to seek out convenience stores.

It's not easy for the convenience store that normally gets deliveries once a week and has years of negative consumer perceptions.

What the mummies tell us

Ancient Egyptians had atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis was found in over half of the mummies recently CT scanned by a team of Egyptologists and cardiologists. Some of the mummies had been deceased for more than three thousand years.

Atherosclerosis was widely believed to be a modern disease.

Source: Supermarket News Spring 2010 edition

Vitamin D - should the daily allowance be raised?

Born and raised in subtropical Miami, it should be no surprise that I've had to deal with sun cancer. You don't see me out in the sun without a hat and sunblock on. Before I pat myself on my own back, I've got to remember that it also means I'm not taking advantage of the best source of vitamin D there is, the sun.

Not getting enough vitamin D may impact conditions such as cancer, coronary artery disease and even chronic pain.

Currently the suggested daily allowance of vitamin D for adults is 400 international units (IU). Doctors have been suggesting this be increased to 1,000 to 2,000 IUs. One of these doctors is Dr. Soram Khalsa, an integrative medicine practitioner at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and author of a book on vitamin D. A growing body or research suggests that higher vitamin D consumption has preventative effects on certain conditions and diseases: osteoporosis, certain cancers and diabetes to name a few.

Vitamin D is naturally present in very few foods. Supplements continue to be the most reliable method of intake.

The FDA is expected to issue an opinion on whether daily allowances for this vitamin should be raised.

source: Vitamin D-Day, Supermarket News, Spring 2010 edition.

Fruit, vegetable carts to roll out in New York's Central Park

Excerpts from a 3/10/10 article in The Packer by Tom Burfield

Starting in April, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will allow produce carts with fresh fruits and vegetables to set up around Central Park, where hot dog and pretzel vendors have long pedaled their wares.

The program is part of the Green Cart Campaign, which was introduced to promote more healthful eating citywide. The carts will offer competitively priced produce, including "three bananas for just a buck, half-pound boxes of strawberries for $2 and mangos for $1.50." For NYC, those prices are pretty good.

Is your state meeting its fruit and veggie goal?

The answer is no. According to Healthy People 2010, there is not one state in the country that meets the national goals for daily fruit and vegetable consumption. The goals are 2 fruits a day and 3 vegetables a day.

As seen in this chart, we are 50% below these goals.

Sorry news for March as it's National Nutritional Month®

Eating healthy requires eating fruits and vegetables, not vitamins, not supplements, not veggie drinks.

Produce provide us with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants. In fact, it's well established that people who eat vegetables daily, as part of an overall healthy diet, are likely to reduce their risk of many chronic illnesses, including type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Here are few health tips that may come in handy next time you are at the grocery store:

1. Look for fresh fruits and vegetables when you can. In colder months, canned fruits and vegetables can be a great option, but be sure to look for labels that read "packed in its own juices" or "unsweetened." You'll save on calories and get a truer taste.


2. Frozen vegetables and fruits are also a wonderful option, especially in the winter months. Look for "naked" vegetables, rather than vegetables in cream or cheese sauces. Go a clean taste and you get way fewer calories.


3. Canned soups and vegetables can be quick and easy, the healthiest option is to choose low-sodium versions.

*Tips adapted from the ADA

Loving salmon

Consume more omega-3 fatty acids. Yes your doctor tells you that, but now your dentist should also be chiming in.

A recent Japanese

study compared levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the prevalence of dental diseases. The results show that the anti-inflammatory effects in omega-3's are found to combat bacteria causing dental health issues.

Let's review what we've got so far on omega-3 fatty acids. They benefit the heart, ward off Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, treat depression, play a crucial role in brain function, as well as aid in normal growth and development.

Our bodies cannot make omega-3 fats; to get them eat fish, particularly salmon, tuna, and halibut, other seafood, green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, plus some nuts like walnuts, and some nut oils.

Besides being an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids - one gram per one 1.5-ounce serving - salmon packs a whopper in nutrients: high protein and Vitamin D to name just a few.

Nutrition scientists around the world, and groups like Oldways, the Latino Nutrition Coalition, and the American Heart Association recommend that people include two four-ounce servings of fish each week.