Go to www.localharvest.org
to find organic farmers' markets near you.The website offers an easily searchable online directory of small farms,
etc.
Nutrient focus:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Even casual
reading of the popular press will at some point tell you that omega-3s are good
for you and that you probably aren't getting enough.What are these omega-3 fatty acids? And why
might your diet be lacking in them?
The chemist
sees all organic matter, including fatty acids, as chains of carbon atoms, each
carbon usually attached to hydrogen atoms.In fatty acids, not all the carbons behave that way: some of them bond
with each other, making a double carbon bond.But why do some have these funny Greek names?Counting carbons from the tail end (omega
being the last letter of the Greek alphabet) you find the first carbon double bond
either in third place or sixth place, hence the omega names.
Why essential?This is the word that is used when something is necessary to the diet
because the body cannot manufacture it.Both
omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential to the human diet.Omega-3s have come into focus recently because
the balance between the two has changed radically in the last150 years due
mainly to the rise of certain vegetable oils, especially hydrogenated soy oil,
corn oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, and safflower oil.You may not cook with any of these, but if
you eat out or buy processed food, you're very likely to be consuming them.
The Japanese
are held up as models of good balance: the island nation eats a lot of fish,
the major source of omega-3s for human beings, and their national ratio of
omega-3 to omega-6 is 1:2.In the U.S., on the
other hand, this ratio is variously estimated to be around 1:20.
What health problems are attributed to the omega-3/omega-6
imbalance? The answer to that is: "Many."Omega-6s provide what's necessary for the body to produce inflammation,
necessary when you have a wound or a bruise or an infection.Inflammation is part of your first defense.
Omega-3s, on the other hand, provide what's necessary to stop the inflammation,
also a necessary part of healing.Heart
disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and depression have all been linked to
inflammatory problems and many researchers feel that the modern Western diet is
playing a big part in promoting that inflammation.
What to eat, since fish are said to accumulate
harmful mercury and PCBs and dioxin, as well as beneficial omega-3s?Go for the smaller fish, lower on the food
chain.Sardines are a good choice.A helpful website in choosing healthy, not
over-fished seafood is www.blueocean.org/Seafood/
What about supplementing with fish oil?Another opportunity to consume mercury?Dr. Joseph Mercola recommends NKO-krill oil
because krill are near the very bottom of the marine food chain.However, that comes in capsules and I
mistrust capsules because it's hard to tell if the oil is rancid.I take Carlson's, slightly flavored with
lemon, which gives me a spoonful of what tastes rather like salad
dressing.The reputable companies
(Carlson's Nordic Naturals, Garden
of Life, etc.) say they have
found a way to remove mercury from their fish oil and cod liver oil. I hope
they're right!