Gretchen Vannice

So here’s what happened………this past Tuesday evening, instead of recording the Olympics to watch them during a reasonable hour, I stayed up until midnight, mesmerized by the Women’s Figure Skating short program.  That was OK, except I had two very early meetings on Wednesday. 

My standard workday morning breakfast is cooked oatmeal and an egg; simple, warm, nourishing and tasty.  Eating this breakfast takes some time and it’s not transportable. On this particular Wednesday, I attended my first meeting without having eaten breakfast but I wasn’t about to attend my second meeting (which could have lasted up to 2 hours) without breakfast. 

Thank goodness for Omega Cookie.  I grabbed the cookie on my way out the door and ate it on the way.

By eating the cookie, I had my oatmeal and fiber with some protein, I felt good about getting my omega-3s for the day (from fish oil), and calcium and vitamin D (both which I need) in a ‘clean’ food (no chemicals, preservatives or artificial flavors). I also like that the cookie has no added sugar, so I didn’t need to worry about that at 9 am in the morning (I prefer to get my ‘sugar calories’ with chocolate, not from daily sustenance foods).

Both meetings went well.  I was able to concentrate and contribute without distraction.

So, even though I stayed up too late and slept later than usual, my breakfast was simple, nourishing and tasty. Thank you Omega Cookie!

I burned a fair patch of skin on my forearm the other day by touching the side of the hot tea kettle.  Oops. The burn didn’t break the skin, but it sure got red and it hurt! 

I was reminded of something I learned years ago.  Vitamin E oil put directly on skin that has been burned is a great healer.  It’s important that the skin not be ‘broken’, and the wound not open, as you don’t want skin to heal over an open wound.

I was surprised by how quickly the vitamin E oil was absorbed into the skin.  My goal was to keep the skin from getting dry so I kept a thin layer on the burn spot for 24 hours. 

Sure enough, the burn is subsiding and the skin is intact. 

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and component of skin cell membranes; the healing properties are consistent with how vitamin E works when we take it internally. 

A nice little home remedy.  If you don’t have pure vitamin E oil in a bottle, you can open vitamin E capsules. 

In the world of academia, there are standards of education.  Diplomas are earned through demonstrating what you have learned, according to proven standards.  For example, when I meet a fellow Registered Dietitian, I know that he/she and I have been exposed to the same information, held to the same standard, and when we become licensed, we passed the same test – a test that had been independently documented to show a level of knowledge.  Test scores will vary by individual, but a pass/fail indicates baseline knowledge (or not). Institutions that maintain standards of excellence are accredited. 

In the world of internet and mail-order, certificates and diplomas are distributed.  In order to get the certificate or diploma, something was done.  It could involve paying a fee, answering a few questions, maybe some course work.  They are most-often not accredited and the information delivered would not meet a higher standard. 

For example, let’s use just the academic portion of becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD):  RD’s have a minimum 4 years of college beyond high school. They must take at least 3 years of chemistry as well as food safety and sanitation, anatomy and physiology, the science of food, biology, etc.  They are trained to keep someone alive in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital.  In short, they have extensive training in human health, medical nutrition therapy, food science, nutrition, etc.

Above, I wrote ‘just the academic portion’ because RD’s also spend at least one year in the hospital getting advanced training (internship), and take a nationally accredited licensing exam (which not everyone passes) to become licensed.     

In general, mail-order and internet certificate and diploma programs offer interesting information which may or may not be valid.  Usually no technical background is required (e.g. basic chemistry for a nutrition certificate) and typically the person doesn’t need to prove any skills or learning.

I’d love to hear comments about why people trust individuals with mail-order and internet diplomas for their health care information. 

A op-ed article (‘A Fish Oil Story’ by Paul Greenberg) in the New York Times today is enlightening and well intended but off the mark. 

I appreciate the attention to omega-3 fatty acids, as these are essential dietary nutrients with proven benefit and documentation that Americans under consume them. I also appreciate the attention on environmental impact and corporate responsibility. 

The unfortunate piece of this article is the mis-information regarding the source of oil used in fish oil supplements in the United States.  Yes, Omega Protein is involved with the menhaden business, but they are not the primary source of oil sold in fish oil supplements in the US.  Not by a long shot.  Anchovies and sardines are the predominant source of oil in fish oil supplements.  I could go on, but it’s important that I make another point.

Paul writes ‘some of those omega-3 supplements you have been forcing on your children’.  Tell me, why does the act of well-intended and educated parents, providing a much needed nutrient (that we’ve all but removed from our food supply) to their children need to be discussed in the context of force?  Does providing adequate nutrition for children have to be a forceful event?  The makers of food disguised as toys and games want us to believe that.  Come on, poor nutrition is key (and ignored) in the demise of our health and healthcare system.  Being nourished is something to welcome, not force. 

And a note on fish oil supplements for children, if the product doesn’t taste good, just like Paul in writing his article – look at the source.  Like anything on the market, there is always a cheap, low-grade product selection; with nutritional products, that can be reflected in taste (and quality).

It’s cold across most of the continental US right now.

Growing up in central region of British Columbia, Canada, deeply cold winters were ordinary.  I have fond memories of dodging snow balls, dipping ice sickles into jello powder and less fond memories of getting up for 6 am ice skating lessons; the one arena in our small town was used for hockey practice after-school and for public skating on weekends.   

Moose and wild game hunting is a common sport, and profession for some. Those who frequented the wilderness country knew the locations of hunting cabins, usually set miles apart and stocked with food and wood.  And it was always said, ‘gotta keep a bottle of whiskey with you, it will keep you from freezing’.  This perplexed me as a child, never certain if it was truth or myth.   

We know alcohol doesn’t freeze, but will it prevent death from extreme cold exposure? I still don’t know.  If you do, please tell me.

Fish exist in the cold arctic waters.  In fact, the richest sources of EPA and DHA omega-3 are found in cold, deep water fish. Fish don’t freeze (well, my gold fish froze in its bowl one year when the heater stopped working while we were gone for Christmas; all the plumbing froze, too).  Ok, most fish don’t freeze. 

Omega-3 fish oil doesn’t freeze. EPA and DHA, the two predominant omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil are unique fats due to their very long chains and multiple double-bonds (hence, called long chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids).  This unique chemical structure allows them to perform distinct metabolic properties that other fats just can’t. It also keeps them from freezing.

I’m reminded, once again, during these cold days of the special and unparalleled properties of omega-3 fish oil. Will they keep you from freezing?  I don’t know that either.  Unlike whiskey, however, omega-3s are essential nutrients in human nutrition.  They can reduce the aches and pains in your joints while you are shoveling snow or building a snowman. And we know that sufficient intake can significantly reduce your risk of heart attack; we can’t say that about whiskey. 

I recently saw fish oil capsules for sale in clear, plastic bottles.  Remember learning that light destroys sensitive nutrients?  We stopped selling milk in clear glass containers years ago because light destroys some of the B-vitamins that occur in milk.  It is dark in your refrigerator, but not in store shelves.     

Omega-3 EPA and DHA are special dietary fats.  They are special for many reasons, but mostly because they are vital in human nutrition, and we (humans) can not make omega-3 or omega-6 fats in our bodies.  They are also special because they need keen attention during manufacturing to protect the EPA and DHA during manufacture. This is why better fish oil costs more. 

Putting fish oil in clear bottles is encouraging disintegration of the oil.  That means less benefit for your body and less value for your wallet. 

There is a reason for the standard statement ‘store in a cool, dark place’.

The important question ‘Can Omega-3 Fatty Acids Enhance Stress Resilience, Wellness, and Military Performance?’ will be addressed next week (Oct 13 & 14) at a 2-day conference at the National Institute of Health in Rockville, MD. 

A prestigious group of world-renowned experts in omega-3 research are speaking, including Dr. J. Hibbeln, Dr. S. Innis, Dr. M Muldoon, Dr. M Crawford, Dr. J Kiecolt-Glaser, Dr HY Kim, Dr. T. Mickleborough, Dr. P Howe and others. 

The opening keynote speaker is Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, the 17^th Surgeon General of the United States. 

They will look at the biochemistry of omega-3 fatty acids, utilization in the human brain, neurotrophic effects and the scope of the problem with the cycles of stress among warfighters. Research findings with omega-3 fats and aggression, suicide and stress, cognitive function, wound healing, in surgery, with cardiometabolic health and physical performance will be presented.  The meeting will conclude with a broad discussion of how the findings presented may be applied within the military environment. 

I’m thrilled to see this mind tank of scientists and military representatives coming together to address this vital topic. 

The conference is being presented as a live webcast.  Archived pod casts of the conference will be available a few weeks after the event.  Feel free to email me for the link.    

I support natural products.  I managed natural food stores for 10 years; I teach people to eat food in its most natural state; I write and speak about natural products from an evidence-based approach in my work today.   I like ‘natural’.

And sometimes, natural just doesn’t make sense.  That is the case here.

I recently reviewed a new product on the market that is sold as a natural omega-3 fish oil supplement.   Problem is, the product contains more of the fats we ought to be reducing in our diet, and provides little omega-3.  

This new product contains 24% saturated fat. One-fourth of each capsule is solid, saturated fat.  People take EPA and DHA Omega-3 because it’s a dietary essential fat.  This new product contains a lot of other fats we don’t need (e.g. not essential) and offers a mere 20% omega-3 EPA and DHA.  Each 1000 mg capsule has 90 mg EPA and 110 mg DHA. 

Typical omega-3 fish oil capsules provide 30% omega-3 EPA and DHA, and products providing 60 – 75% EPA and DHA are becoming more common.  

A product providing 20% of EPA and DHA with a generous portion of saturated fat and other non-essential fat is not a good value or a healthful choice. 

One more thing, this said company claims to have clinical research on their branded product.  There’s a nice graphic on their website.  I’ve contacted the company twice inquiring about the ‘clinical research trial’, and have received no response. 

A pretty graphic without any reference to who, or where, or when or how the study was completed, is just a cartoon picture.      

Just published.  The levels of 3 types of omega-3 fats and 2 types of omega-6 fats were assessed in 160 men – 82 of whom were infertile and 78 were proven fertile (Safarinejadm et al, 2009).

The results:

Fertile men had higher levels of omega-3s in their blood and sperm, compared to the infertile men.  The infertile men had higher levels of arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 fatty acid and known pro-inflammatory precursor.

The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 was also significant.  Infertile men had a higher ratio of omega-6:omega-3 (O6:O3) in their blood. In fact, the infertile men had more than twice the ratio of O6:O3 than the fertile men.  Translated into English, this means the infertile men consumed more than double the amount of omega-6 fats in the diet compared to the fertile men. 

Meats, some dairy products and foods rich in vegetable oils, typically processed foods such as crackers, chips, cookies are higher in omega-6 fats.

Perhaps most relevant, are the findings that the higher O6:O3 ratio was associated with lower sperm count, lower sperm motility and lower sperm morphology.  These findings were statistically significant and the number of men, compared to standard research studies, was not that high.  Translated into English, this means the findings (e.g. less omega-3 and less sperm) were meaningful and when studied again, will likely be reproduced.  (note: one of the best tests of a research finding is reproducibility).

This is not the first time these findings have been reported.   It was published in 2006 (Aksoy, et al) that lower levels of DHA and a higher O6:O3 ratio was related to infertility in men.