Day 77

BREAKFAST

Had bowl of cereal with whole grain cheerios and shredded wheat mixed with banana. Great cup of freshly roasted coffee.

While you are reading the following article...a cut from another of my favorite artists...Norah Jones



Here is an interesting article about omega 3

Experts swear that it lowers cholesterol, prevents heart attacks, reduces the inflammation of arthritis and even makes kids smarter.
The bottom line: it can extend your life expectancy, say experts.
If you're listening to the cardiologists, dietitians and researchers, you're eating so much fish that you're sure you're growing gills and scales.
Along with increasing your fish intake -- the kind high in omega-3 fatty acids -- perhaps you're even popping a fish-oil capsule daily.
But news reports about a recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) may have left you confused about omega-3s and fish. In it, lead author David Jenkins claims the benefits of omega-3-rich fish are overstated.
The University of Toronto nutrition professor says that some of the cardiac benefits of omega-3-rich fish are inconclusive. He -- along with Canadian writer/conservationist Farley Mowat, co-author of the CMAJ article -- goes on to say that global fish stocks are running out.
Their conclusion: doctors should no longer recommend that patients increase their fish and fish-oil consumption.
That controversial advice is a cause for concern for Peter Jones, director of Winnipeg's Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals.
"I don't believe that we need to be as doom and gloom about it," says Jones, a nutritional biochemist. "It's always possible to poke holes in science. But my own view is that there's a positive, overwhelming amount of evidence in support of omega-3s."
Omega-3s are unsaturated fatty acids that experts from around the world proclaim prevent cardiac ailments, reduce inflammation, improve the transmitting capabilities of cell membranes and play a critical role in brain function.
Jones says the scientific community has buzzed about the positive benefits of omega-3s from fish for nearly 40 years. However, over the past decade, fish oil has become mainstream, thanks to a flurry of scientific literature that reports its profound health benefits.
"Ever since the year 2000 when the supplement came out, most of us in science have regarded the omega-3 story to be the best one out there when it comes to functional ingredients," says Jones, who pops fish oil daily.
There are three main types of omega-3s: alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The body converts ALA -- the type of omega-3 found in plant sources such as flax, canola and nuts -- to EPA and DHA.
EPA and DHA are the two types of omega-3s found in oily, deep-water fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines.
The body uses EPA and DHA more efficiently than ALA.
Jones hopes that will change, leading to a boom in the Manitoba flax and canola industries, for which he is working on a number of studies.
"More and more people are looking for alternative sources," says Jones, adding that the mercury and dioxins that reside in some larger fish do not exist in flax and canola.
The goal of one of his projects: To understand conversion between the ALA omega-3 found in plant sources to EPA and DHA. Another question he's looking into: why do some people convert ALA better than others?
Jones says Monsanto and BASF have patents on processes that turn "plants into almost fish" through genetic modification.
"It may be a brave new world out there if we run out of fish stocks or fish become too contaminated," says Jones, noting that Canadians may eventually "have to revert to some of these frankenfoods."
Bruce Holub, a University of Guelph nutrition professor who has studied omega-3s for 25 years, says the CMAJ article and the mainstream media have exaggerated the presence of toxins in wild and farmed fish.
While it's true that mothers-to-be, lactating women and children should avoid eating large fish such as albacore tuna and shark, he says they need to increase their intake of smaller, omega-3-laden fish.
"We do have good quality, safe fish available to us," says Holub, who believes that a lack of omega-3 from fish hinders children's brain development.
His latest work, published in the March issue of the Journal of Nutrition, found that Canadian kids aged four to eight consumed extremely low amounts of omega-3 from fish.
"Kids are often consuming one fish serving every several months in contrast to adults and children in Japan who regularly consume fish anywhere from three to 15 times a week," he says.
Another issue Holub has with the CMAJ article: the assertion that the global fish supply is currently endangered. While he acknowledges that some of the global fish industry is not sustainable, some is. Particularly well run, he says, are the anchovy industries in Chile, a source for some fish-oil supplements. He also says well-managed fish farms exist in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada.
In his controversial CMAJ piece, Jenkins says that in some cases, omega-3s only boost cardiovascular health by about 15 per cent.
Holub argues that some widely used cardiac drugs have the same level of effectiveness. He adds that in some instances, the heart benefits of omega-3 can be as high as 50 per cent.
Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist and author of the South Beach Diet Supercharged, understands why scientists question the validity of observational omega-3 studies.
"Diet studies are difficult to do. The classic studies are placebo controlled and double blind. People are not blind to what they are eating," says the Miami-based doctor.
Nevertheless, he is convinced omega-3s derived from fish are lifesaving.
Agatston recommends most of his patients consume one to two grams of fish oil daily. For those with high triglyceride levels, he recommends higher doses of five or six grams, says Agatston, who takes fish oil himself.
"I've just seen positive effects. It's really the only supplement that I take," he says.
Gina Sunderland is torn about the omega-3 debate. Over the past year, the Winnipeg dietitian has pondered the environmental effects of over-fishing fuelled by our quest for better health.
She believes that farmed fish may be a more environmentally sound source of EPA and DHA than wild fish.
Says Sutherland, "Maybe we just need to think about where we're getting our omega 3s."

LUNCH

I had left over veggie pasta.....VG!

DINNER

We are having a veggie stir fry for supper with a spring roll.

more later.....