The summer of omega-3s

Summer! It is, barring the occasional return to fall-like weather if you live in the Pacific Northwest, finallly summer, a time of cookouts, picnics, and outdoor activities. We may have more regular omega-3 consumption from a myriad of fish or meat from free-range, grass-fed animals, at the same time that we are more active and feeling those aches and pains come to life. A very interesting article came out at the end of last year. bringing together results from many different research trials on rheumatoid arthritis. The authors found good data for omega-3s helping to relieve tender points and decrease the use of pain medicines, but most effectively in the range of about 3 grams of DHA+EPA daily, and benefits usually take a few months to kick in. Most of us won't achieve that amount of DHA+EPA with an extra salmon fillet on the grill, making omega-3 supplementation still an important addition to healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=proceedings%20of%20hte%20nutrition%20society.%202010%3B69%3A316-323

This month's flavor

Hello all. We here at Dr. Dave's Omega-3 Foods want to say thank you for a great holiday season. We hope all of you enjoyed our special flavors, mojito (November) and chai (December). We will be returning to our good ole' standard Dr. Dave's Mega-O Vegetarian mint in addition to our Dr. Dave's Mega-O Orange Shine (always available). May these flavors help you to meet your and your loved one's (remember, Valentine's Day is approaching!) daily omega-3 needs!

Holiday flavor!

We have been branching out from our standard blockbuster flavors this holiday season. November and part of December featured Dr. Dave's Mega-O Vegetarian Mojito, a delicious blend of mint, lime and rum extract. What a joy to receive omega-3s every day mixed with those tantalizing flavors. Last week, we brought back the ever-popular Dr. Dave's Mega-O Vegetarian Chai, sublty spicy and holiday-esque, perfect for your post-New Year's resolutions that surely involve weaving more omega-3s into your daily life. As always, you can order your omega-3 chocolates directly from our website, o3foods.com, or visit the Seattle-area Whole Foods Market Roosevelt Square.

Fish oil use in pregnancy: research article

It is now commonplace for pregnant women to take prenatal vitamins and a DHA omega-3 supplement on the premise that the DHA helps the brain development in the fetus and newborn after delivery. Initial research was excitingly positive, but yesterday the journal JAMA released findings from Australia that supplementation with 800 mg DHA (and 100 mg EPA) daily during pregnancy did not lead to significant cognitive improvement in the infant at 18 months of age, nor did it decrease the chance that women would have postpartum depression. The group taking omega-3s did have a decrease in the rate of preterm labor. There are many factors to consider when trying to determine whether or not to "believe" the results of this article. The researchers mention fish intake outside of the study could be a factor, as well as dose, EPA/DHA ratio, and the general applicability of the women being studied to women from other countries. The bottom line is that research into the effect of omega-3s will only help our clinical use of these important nutrients, and this study adds one piece of data to the overall picture. There is little to no risk to taking omega-3 supplements, so most women will probably continue to add them to their prenatal regimen on the chance that there is some benefit, the details of which will hopefully be elucidated by future research.

Here is the link if you would like to read more:

www.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/health/research/20fishoil.html?scp=1&sq=fish%20oil&st=cse

Stay tuned for a New Flavor!

Dr. Dave's Omega-3 Foods is proud to plant the seed of an upcoming new flavor. Since our company's inception in 2007, delicious flavors such as mint, orange, mocha, and ginger have made your daily omega-3s absolutely delicious, a treat to look forward to as you meet your health goals. In addition, special edition flavors such as chai tea, and cayenne-cinnamon were hot-selling (no pun intended), exciting variations on what your palates had come to expect from chocolate. What amazing flavor could possibly be coming next? Stay tuned!

Omega-3s and vision

Keen that omega-3s can be helpful for maintenance of healthy vision, we were recently contacted by a Seattle-based optometrist who expressed interest in using our chocolates as attention-assuring treats during a lunchtime talk about omega-3s and eyes. The data that surfaces on a search of PubMed seems to indicate slowing of macular degeneration, improvement of dry eyes, and some assistance with visual development in young children and infants. Thanks to our opthalmologic colleagues for weaving our omega-3 enhanced chocolate delights into their profession!

Your Summer of Omega-3s

A fun, and seasonal, combination of factors finds many people getting their omega-3s from salmon on the grill, while at the same time the extreme heat in most parts of the country makes for difficult Dr. Dave's Mega-O shipping. A customer contacted us recently and her 4 boxes of Dr. Dave's Mega-O Vegetarian mocha were a congealed mass of melted, then cooled, dark chocolate, algae oil, and other ingredients. Even with cooler packs, it is very difficult to ship our products to your door in the summer and have it arrive fresh. So, Dr. Dave's Omega-3 Foods LLC is planning to stop on-line orders August 1, resuming shipping this fall (approximately mid-September), following suit with many other chocolate companies that have done the same over the years. We encourage all of you lovers of Dr. Dave's Mega-O chocolates to branch out this summer, grill some salmon on the grill, experiment with salads full of plant-based omega-3s, and await the return of our omega-3 delights this fall.
One note: for those of you in Seattle, it is still possible to purchase our products in the Whole Body section of Whole Foods Market Roosevelt Square.