For Valentine's Day... Think Outside the Chocolate Box!

February is not only the month to celebrate L-O-V-E, but it also American Heart Month. More than 70 million Americans suffer from some form of heart disease and this remains the leading cause of death in the United States. For most people, heart disease is preventable. One of the most effective ways to prevent it is through the diet! With this in mind, you can see why it is so important to make this year about loving your heart and soul. With a few small changes to traditional gifts and healthful choices you can celebrate a Valentine’s Day from the heart that’s also good for your heart!


Instead of giving the traditional gift of chocolates and candy, try giving your loved ones a beautiful basket filled with dried fruits and nuts or an assortment of herbal teas with honey sticks. Another wonderful gift is a membership to a gym, a month with a personal trainer, or even something they might not think about like a series of yoga classes or belly dancing classes. Focus on health rather than indulgence. When it comes time for the romantic dinner that you and your loved one share on Valentine’s Day, choose foods that are heart healthy: salmon- a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and protein; spinach and other leafy green vegetables- rich in phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals; tofu- rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals (soy protein has been shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol)… try a new vegetarian restaurant for a change. Keep your love alive and your blood flowing… they say that experimentation keeps love fresh. Try this experiment, go for a walk as a family in the morning, schedule your annual physical (more than one-third of people with high blood pressure do not know that they have it), have a heart healthful dinner and send a gift other than chocolate to your loved one. “Variety is the spice of life”

Fish Update

I panic at the fish counter. What fish is low in contaminants? What can I buy and still be environmentally sensitive? What fish has a lot of omega 3 fatty acids?

Well, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has updated their list of what is "super green".

Top 5 are:

Albacore tuna (troll or pole caught from the US or Canada),

Farmed mussels,

Farmed oysters,

Wild Pacific sardines,

Wild pink shrimp from Oregon,

Farmed rainbow trout and

Wild caught Alaskan salmon.

Need more choices? Go to their website for a more extensive list:

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_health.aspx

Want more info on why you should be increasing your omega 3 fatty acid intake? Our June 2009 newsletter focused on the benefits of those omega 3 fatty acids found in fish (you can find it in the newsletter archives on our website).

Remember that children and pregnant women should not have more that 12 ounces of fish a week.

Enjoy!

- Patricia

Something's Fishy

Our June newsletter was filled with praise for health promoting fish! Fish is rich in omega 3 fatty acids which benefit our bodies in many ways. It helps our hearts, keeps our blood flowing, helps reduce inflammation, may help us focus better and improve mood. For infants and children the benefits are great as well- omega 3 fatty acids support brain and eye development and may help with speech and cognitive development. Of course there is a catch! Many fish are high in heavy metals such as mercury and selenium or pollutants such as pharmacological waste or pesticide run off. In addition to concerns regarding negative effects we might encounter eating fish, we need to be concerned about the negative effects eating fish have for the fish.
Since fish is such a health promoting food, we are fishing all our fish away!
So what to eat? How much to eat?

Guidance is often difficult to come by as recommendations are influenced by the philosophies of various groups.
Here are some websites to help you make decisions regarding which fish to eat.

For mercury content and how much of a fish is safe to eat visit: www.gotmercury.org

To chose ocean friendly seafood, download a guide at:
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx

For more information on omega 3 fatty acids visit: www.fabresearch.org