Omega What?

I am sure we have all heard about Omega 3 Fatty Acids.  I wanted to know a little bit more: What are they, Why are they good for you, and What foods contain them?  I did a little research and this is what I found:

Omega 3's are fatty acids necessary for good health but our bodies cannot produce them.  We have to get them from food or supplements.

Omega 3's are good for our bodies for many reasons:

• Help to reduce inflammation in the body
• May help lower risk of chronic diseases such as cancer
• Have a crucial role in brain function
• May reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease
• Lower the amount of cholesterol  in the blood
• Help prevent cancer cell growth

Fish, plant, and nut oils are the primary source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Here is a list of a few foods which contain Omega 3's:

Salmon

Halibut

Herring

Sardines

Tuna

Walnuts

Flaxseeds

Flaxseed oil

Soybeans

Tofu

Shrinp

Foods that Fight Heart Disease

My father died of heart disease at the young age of 45.  As an adult it is part of the motivation that keeps me active and on the path to eat a healthy diet.  Now don't get me wrong - my son's birthday party was a pizza laden, cake eating week long event!  We all fall off the proverbial wagon - but don't let a few slip-ups keep you from pursuing health eating and exercise habits.  When you slip up and have a bad day (or week as it may) of making some not so great food choices, just remember one thing...Today is the beginning of the rest of your life.  Don't fret over what you just ate...move forward and decide to make better food choices from now on.  We all slip-up...it's recognizing that we have made bad choices, vowing to try and do better, and moving forward with a positive attitude for tomorrow that's important.

Here is a list of foods that research shows are good heart disease fighters:

Deep Colored Produce ( Blueberries, Spinach, Carrots, Cranberries)
Sunflower Seeds
Salmon
Garlic (Almost my dinner recipes are loaded with garlic)
Flax seed
Pistachios
Pine Nuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans

More Benefits of Flax (Especially for those of us who are post-menopausal)

An article in Women's Health (July/August 2009) I read gave me more great news about the benefits of flax.

Flax has more lignans (a unique group of phytochemicals (plant chemicals) known as phytoestrogens, estrogen-like compounds that also act as antioxidants) than any other food. This is good because the estrogenlike compounds help reduce appetite and help shrink fat cells.

When you are post-menopausal your bodies estrogen production drops 40 or 60 percent. Eating a diet rich in healthy foods (and regular light to moderate exercise like walking) can improve your health and over all well being. By including more soy and flax in the diet as well as eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, and healthy oils, and decreasing animal fat intake, you can help work thru the regular symptoms of menopause and also improve you overall sense of well-being.

You can buy flax seed at most grocery stores. Great ways to get more flax in your diet is to sprinkle it on cereal or oatmeal, add it to your yogurt or smoothies. Also look for the ingredient in multigrain bread and cereals. Kashi has several choices of cereal containing flax (Honey Almond Flax Cereal).

These estrogen like compounds are also found in sesame seeds, hummus, and dried fruits.

Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's

I read this article today on ways to help prevent Alzheimers by Dr. Andrew Weil. It has some good, easy tips to follow for Alzheimers prevention and just good health in general.

1. Challenge yourself. Pursue hobbies, engage in an active social life, take music or language lessons, or learn a new computer program.

2. Use a daily multivitamin that provides adequate levels of folic acid and other B vitamins. .

3. Use healing spices in your cooking: Turmeric, ginger and red pepper can add zing to meals and are all natural anti-inflammatories.

4. Eat a diet rich in omega-3s, including wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, freshly ground flaxseed and walnuts.

5. Incorporate plenty of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables in your meals.

6. Reduce your intake of polyunsaturated vegetable oils (such as sunflower, corn and safflower oils), replacing them instead with extra-virgin olive oil.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/TIP03174/8-Ways-to-Prevent-Alzheimers.html

Flax Seed:
Flax seed is Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids are a key force against inflammation in our bodies. Mounting evidence shows that inflammation plays a part in many chronic diseases including heart disease, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, and even some cancers. Flax Seed is high in Fiber, and has been shown to lower cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure.

I buy ground flax seed and sprinkle it on my cereal or oatmeal everyday. You can also sprinkle it on salads. You don't have to go to speciality stores to find flax seeds. They come already packaged in stores like Market Street and even Target.

Welcome to my Blog!

I started this blog not because I am an expert in nutrition, diet or exercise but because I am a pushing forty, happily married, cancer surviving, mother of two who just wants to raise a healthy family without having to have a personal chef, trainer or a degree in nutrition. Why should I have to read the label of every single food item I buy for my family? What happened to food just being food?

Two years ago when I found I had cancer, my family and I, who already exercised and ate pretty healthy, really started doing a lot of research on what we were eating. We began to read the labels of everything we bought. The first few weeks of doing this meant for long hours at the grocery store. I found myself exclaiming out loud in the aisles, “I’ve been feeding this to my kids?” It produced a number of wary looks from fellow shoppers. Once I began to get a handle of what products I thought were okay and what to avoid it began to get much easier but what I found shocking is the number of preservatives, hidden trans fat, and over processed foods that are in our diets. Why should there be ten ingredients in butter? Shouldn’t butter just be cream and salt?
So I decided I would start off 2009 with a blog that had great food tips, easy healthy recipes, and information that I could share with others on getting back to a more natural way of eating. I wanted to help others so they would not have to do all the leg work I have done over the last couple of years to put healthy food on my families table.

1 Corinthians 6:19,20 (New Living Translation)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

The first thing I want to talk about is breakfast. For me, it’s boring. I do not get excited about breakfast at home. It is utilitarian. Although I would prefer a nice big toasted everything bagel with a bunch of cinnamon swirl cream cheese. That’s not what I eat. Six out of seven days a week I eat either cereal or oatmeal with fruit. I know it sounds pretty bland but you can really make it a great start to a super healthy day. Here are a few suggestions:

Kashi Heart to Heart Brown Maple Oatmeal
Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal
Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal










Whatever I choose I always add about a teaspoon of cinnamon to my cereal, ground flax seed (I’ll tell you why next), and fruit – usually blueberries or sliced bananas. To make the cold cereal even better I use light vanilla soy milk. I know it may sound strange but it is so good. I like it so much that I never use regular milk anymore. If you don’t like the extra vanilla flavoring than just get regular light soy milk. My favorite brand is Light Silk Soymilk. It’s all natural.

The reason I usually choose Kashi brand cereals or oatmeal is that I know I can trust that their products are going to be all natural. I don’t have to read the list of ingredients before buying their products – I have found from my research and reading the labels of many different brands of cereal that they consistently use all natural ingredients. Here’s their website if you want to look at the products they sell.

http://kashi.com/

I also want to add that I do not work for anybody or get anything for mentioning products. I am just simply sharing my opinion about products I love. As I mentioned, I have spent a lot of time reading labels and just want to share the information I have found so that I can help others get back to more natural way of eating.