The Hemp Connection:
vitamin A

This is to address some great questions about fish oil that Katie sent in.

Katie asked:
after reading about fish oil and its obvious benefits, I finally bought some Carlson Super Omega-3 Fish Oil Concentrate soft gels yesterday at Whole Foods.

I have several questions I have tried to get answered via this site and the Internet, but can't seem to find clear answers, so I am throwing them out here, in hopes you can help.

1. The bottle says"Each Carlson Super Omega — 3 soft gel contains 1000 mg (1 gram) of a special concentrate of fish body oils from deep, cold-water fish which are especially rich in the important Omega-3's EPA and DHA." However, the Supplemental Facts read EPA 300 mg DHA 200 mg Other Omega-3's 100mg. I believe that adds up to 600mg. Right? There is no mention of the other 400 mg. Where are they? I'm very confused about this. Can you explain this to me? There is also Natural Vitamin E — 10 IU…incase that means something.

2. How many pills/mg am I supposed to take? I read between 1000 mg and 3000 mg. Which makes me confused again because even though the bottle says 1000 mg in each pill I can only find 600 of them! I want to make sure that I am taking enough, but not taking too much! How much do you take? Also, do I work up to that or just dive in?

3. Last question…is there anything else I should be taking with the fish oil? I know that sometimes if you take something you need to supplement with something else. Is that the case here?

Thank you in advance for your advice and information!

My response:
Katie, these are really great questions and something that I am often asked by my clients. Here's the scoop:

1. The dosage on the ingredient list can indeed be very confusing and frankly I believe it is a way in which some supplement companies try to give the impression that you are getting a better product with higher potency, but it can be misleading. When the label states something like…"contains 1000 mg marine oil", you are not getting the complete information.

The critical ingredients and the amounts you need to know about are — how much EPA (eicosapentanoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are contained in each capsule.

EPA and DHA have been shown to support healthy functioning of the cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems. EPA is also an excellent anti-inflammatory and helpful in conditions such as insulin resistance, diabetes and auto-immune related inflammation.

DHA is an important factor for those with PCOS as it supports many aspects of health including pregnancy, fetal development, and healthy neurological function.

The other"marine lipids" are simply the total fat of the fish, where the EPA and DHA are the active portions of that fat. It is the"actives" that are providing the therapeutic value. The vitamin E in the capsules is for preservative purposes and helps prevent rancidity of the fat.

2. Regarding the dosage you should take, that is a harder question to answer because it will depend on what you are trying to target. Those with PCOS should be targeting anywhere from 500 — 1000 mg. DHA. So you need to know how much DHA is in each cap, for example if the capsule has only 200mg. of DHA, you'll need to take 3 of them to get approximately 500mg. You can then work up to a higher dose, always start with the lower dose and work your way up. Sometimes it is easier to get a liquid version that is high potency versus taking handfuls of pills to achieve the same dose.

I do not recommend that you take a liquid fish oil that is derived from Cod Liver Oil as the source as it usually has a high amount of Vitamin A and it is possible to get toxic doses of vitamin A. Another thing to note is that in a combination EPA/DHA cap, the dosage EPA will usually be higher than the amount of DHA, that is no problem. The EPA will only be of additional benefit.

Don't hesitate consulting with a registered dietitian knowledgeable both in PCOS and supplements in order to have your supplementation tailored to your specific health needs — remember we are all different, with unique physiology, medical history and requirements.

3. Fish Oil does not have to be taken with anything else to enhance its function. It can be taken all at once, with meals, between meals — it is very flexible this way.

Here are a couple of additional tips:

- if you tend to"burp" back fish oil, make sure to buy a brand that comes in an"enterically coated capsule", they might cost a few cents more, but it's worth it.
- refrigerate your fish oil to protect it and this also can help reduce"burp back".
- contributes to creating beautiful, healthy skin.

One last fun fact about fish oil. Most of it actually comes from the southern hemisphere not as you might think from the deep waters off Norway!

Here's to fish oil!

Carmina McGee, MS, RD, LE
Ventura, California
805.816.2629
info@carminamcgee.com

One of the things I love about doing demos at Whole Foods is that they always have great food to sample! This past weekend I learned about baby kiwis. (I am always surprised at how, just about the time I think, at my age, and with my profession, I've encountered every kind of fruit and vegetable there is to eat…that something new pops up in the produce section!)

If you like kiwi fruit, these are the mini version. They're about the size of grapes, but they taste like kiwi fruit. They are very high in vitamin C, and they have a bit of calcium, vitamin A, and iron as well.

They'd be a great snack food to have in the refrigerator--be sure to store them at eye level instead of in the produce bin so you don't forget you have them!

Photo courtesy of melissas.com

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kate attended my vegetarian eating class. She mentioned that she has been eating the broccoli leaves from the broccoli plants in her garden. Tonight she gave me a bag from that garden to experiment with in my kitchen.

I learned while researching, that broccoli leaves are actually higher in beta-carotene than any other part of the broccoli! They are also a nice source of thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, selenium, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese.

Most chefs writing about broccoli leaves suggest that they are similar to collard greens as far as their cooking characteristics. Here's a sample recipe (scroll to the bottom of the post).

Kate told me they work well in making chips similar to kale chips. That's what I'm going to experiment with tomorrow. I'll update with a report on how they turned out!

Local colleague Greg Peterson will be on the radio show tomorroww to talk about his urban farm and how he uses it to inspire other city dwellers to grow their own food. Greg and I had a nice chat recently about the therapy that a garden provides. It's not just about the food!

Be sure to tune in at www.blogtalkradio.com/incystforhormones at noon Eastern time, or check in the archives to hear the recording.

I know my time in Kate's garden tonight was so much fun! She showed me and our friend Ivonne her peppers, artichokes, lemon tree, and squash. We cut open a lemon, dipped the slices in sugar, and ate them just like that! It was fun to bond over simple pleasures and I could tell Kate enjoys heading to her garden for a bit of quiet time as well as some great tasty eats.

BTW…the amount of sugar we used for a few lemon slices…was probably far less than many of you habitually use in your coffee or get in a soda. It was truly tasty, like eating lemonade!

If you're a frequent traveler, chances are you have already had an opportunity to experience the new security measures at the airport, which include the new full body scanner.

One of the biggest concerns about this scanner has been the radiation exposure these scanners emit. Because radiation can affect fertility, a concern of many readers of this blog, I did some fact checking.

What is interesting to note is that before these scanners were even in existence, anyone stepping on an airplane was already increasing their exposure to radiation! In a 1998 study published in Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, scientists concluded that an airline captain is exposed to 37% more radiation per year (219 millirem) than a nuclear power plant worker in the same period of time (160 millirem). For the pilot, that is the equivalent to 22 chest x-rays, for the power plant worker, 16 chest x-rays.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in an independent study, reported that the average scan with the TSA backscatter x-ray scanner provides 0.0024 millirem of radiation exposure. Meaning, you would have to have 4,000 TSA scans to equal one x-ray. The people at greatest risk for increased radiation exposure from these machines is most likely the TSA workers themselves, who conduct their work in the presence of the scanners for hours at a time.

Bottom line:

1. Your biggest dose of radiation exposure is actually coming from the time you spend on the airplane at altitude, not the short amount of time in the scanner.
2. If you are a pilot, flight attendant, or frequent flyer with concerns about fertility, it certainly is a good strategy to start being more diligent about your intake of antioxidants. I've listed the important ones below that are consistently recommended as cancer fighters.
3. If you are a reporter researching the scanner issue, instead of scaring travelers, perhaps the more relevant issue is why TSA is not requiring its employees to wear dosimeters to be sure their own exposure over time is not an occupational risk. It might also be a very quick way to identify a machine that is malfunctioning and exposing flyers to unnecessary additional radiation.
4. Flight crews and TSA employees might want to consider packing their bags with more fruits and vegetables. Especially since these are not items commonly available in airport food courts.
5. In addition to the standard security questions TSA members should ask for your 24 hour diet recall to be sure you're sufficiently protected for your flight. (Couldn't resist that one…just KIDDING!)
6. For our specific population most likely reading this post, I strongly recommend you discuss your travel strategy with the appropriate caregiver if you have a history of cancer, are in the middle of infertility treatment, or have a history of sexual abuse. It's best to know what choices are most appropriate for your personal situation before standing in the TSA line.

So if you're heading home at altitude for Thanksgiving, consider that the broccoli, cranberries, and sweet potatoes (even a small extra sliver of pumpkin pie) aren't all that bad if you're going to have seconds. Enjoy them, as well as your family.

BEST ANTIOXIDANTS FOR COUNTERING RADIATION

Vitamin C parsley, broccoli, bell pepper, strawberries, oranges, lemon juice, papaya, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts.

Vitamin E mustard greens, chard, sunflower seeds, turnip greens

Vitamin A carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, beef, collards, kale, turnip greens, beet greens, winter squash

Lutein and Zeaxanthin kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens, romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, garden peas, Brussels sprouts

Proanthocyanadins apples, cinnamon, cocoa, grape seed, grape skin, red wine, cranberry, black currant, green tea, black tea, and chokecherry.

Selenium button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, cod, shrimp, snapper, tuna, halibut, calf's liver, and salmon.

Lycopene tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, and guava

Marissa Kent of Mission Viejo, California wrote a wonderful article about watermelon for her August newsletter. Be sure to check out the watermelon salad recipe at the bottom of the post!

In addition to being a dietitian specializing in eating disorders and a certified diabetes educator, Marissa loves food, cooking, and hanging out at her local farmer's market.

You can learn more about Marissa and her nutrition counseling services at http://www.marissakentnutrition.com/.

One of the most enjoyed fruits during the hot season is the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), which originated
from Africa. Did you know a watermelon is 95% water, and there are more than 200 to 300 varieties grown
in the United States alone? Only about half a dozen of those varieties make it into your supermarket. There
is even a square shaped watermelon grown in Japan, so that it will fit into refrigerator shelves nicely and not
take up too much space.

Watermelons do grow from a vine, but the melon is on top of the ground. Growing a watermelon can be very demanding. They require a lot of sunlight, space, water, and nutrients.It takes about 90 days for a full mature watermelon. California’s peak season for watermelon is May – October, but in general you can buy watermelon throughout the year.

Picking a watermelon requires both talent and skill, or just pure luck. Ideally you want a firm, smooth melon
with a yellowish creamy-white underside where it touched ground. Ripe watermelons should have a healthy
sheen and a melon smell. One popular way of picking a watermelon is by knocking on the melon with your
knuckles and listening for a dull, hollow sound. The unripe melons have a higher pitched sound.

Most people prefer watermelons for the cool sweet refreshing taste, but little do they know a watermelon is filled with nutrition.

Nutrition values:

1 cup of diced watermelon:
50 calories
11 grams of carbohydrate
0.6 grams of fiber
9 grams of sugar
1 gram protein– (can you believe it!)
11 mg calcium
170 mg potassium– (helps you stay hydrated)
12.5 mg Vit. C
875 IU (International Units) Vit. A
6900 mcg (micrograms) lycopene — Wow!

Watermelon (as defined by its name) mostly consists of water. It’s a great source for keeping your body hydrated during this hot season. Most of the water will come out of your body through sweat or urination. This does not mean it is low in nutritional value!

The top 2 benefits of eating a watermelon are: 1) the values of vitamin A and 2) lycopene. Both of these are antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect the body from damage caused by free radicals (highly reactive and unstable molecules). Vitamin A aids in the building and strengthening of bones, soft tissue, skin, and mucous membranes. Lycopene is in the subcategory of Vitamin A, and has been shown in recent studies to have potential health benefits to reduce the risk of cancer! Watermelon contains potassium. Potassium helps trigger your heart’s squeeze of blood through your body. It also helps with reducing the amount of muscle cramps.

People with diabetes may be concerned with the sugar content of watermelon. However, other foods you eat with watermelon will reduce the impact on your blood sugar.

Glycemic index refers to how fast a specific carbohydrate (bread, rice, potato, fruits, etc… ) food raises the blood sugar within a given time. The glycemic index of a food can change when you eat a combination of nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat). Watermelon (as defined by its name) mostly consists of water. It’s a great source for keeping your body hydrated during this hot season. Most of the water will come out of your body through sweat or urination. This does not mean it is low in nutritional value!

The top 2 benefits of eating a watermelon are: 1) the values of vitamin A and 2) lycopene. Both of these are antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect the body from damage caused by free radicals (highly reactive and unstable molecules). Vitamin A aids in the building and strengthening of bones, soft tissue, skin, and mucous membranes. Lycopene is in the subcategory of Vitamin A, and has been shown in recent studies to have potential health benefits to reduce the risk of cancer! Watermelon contains potassium. Potassium helps trigger your heart’s squeeze of blood through your body. It also helps with reducing the amount of muscle cramps.

People with diabetes may be concerned with the sugar content of watermelon. However, other foods you eat with watermelon will reduce the impact on your blood sugar.

Glycemic index refers to how fast a specific carbohydrate (bread, rice, potato, fruits, etc… ) food raises the blood sugar within a given time. The glycemic index of a food can change when you eat a combination of nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat).

For example, if you are eating a hamburger and then a slice of watermelon, that will decrease the time it takes to rise the sugar level. You may want to work with a dietitian to learn more about combining and preparing foods to achieve the lowest glycemic index levels in your meals.

The glycemic index of a watermelon is 72, which is high compared to the chart below. Most nonstarchy vegetables, legumes, high fiber fruits and grains, have a low glycemic index.

Here is a chart of the levels of the glycemic index:

 Low (good) glycemic index levels: 55 or less

 Medium glycemic index levels: 56–69

 High (bad) glycemic index levels: 70 or higher

In conclusion, the glycemic index of watermelon is high. If you stay within the recommended portion size (1 cup diced), your blood sugar will not be significantly affected. In addition, if you enjoy watermelon with a meal this will further balance blood sugar.

Enjoy picking out and eating your watermelon while we are still in summer!!!

Watermelon Summer Salad

Dressing:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 cup minced shallots (1 large)
1 T honey
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salad:

6 cups of baby arugula, washed
1/8 of a seedless watermelon, rind removed and cut into 1 inch cubes
12 oz of feta cheese, 1/2 inch diced
1/2 cup whole fresh mint leaves, julienned

Directions

Whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice and shallots, honey, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking constantly to form an emulsion. If not using within an hour, store the vinaigrette covered in the refrigerator.

Place arugula, watermelon, feta, and mint in a large bowl. Drizzle with enough vinaigrette to coat the greens lightly and toss well. Taste and serve immediately

I work with and talk about food all day long. But if it's not easy, I don't bother. Food should be fun, not tedious. And if you don't like it, you're never going to eat it.

That's why I wanted to pass along a great idea from colleague Tavis Piattoly, sports dietitian for the New Orleans Saints, the New Orleans Hornets, and St. Amant High School Athletics.

Over the weekend, he shared that he grilled butternut squash, and it turned out tasting just like sweet potato fries! All he did, was brush them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder…then put them on a sheet of tin foil on the grill.

And voila! A tasty summer treat to go with whatever protein you choose to grill. Not to mention nice doses of vitamins A, C, E, and folate.

Thanks, Tavis! Next time give me a heads up on dinnertime. I promise I'll bring dessert.: )

inCYSTer Christine Marquette recently gave a great, detailed webinar about supplements and PCOS. In it, she pointed out that there are certain nutrients women with PCOS may need more of because their metabolism is altered.

What I've been wondering ever since, is whether or not they need more because their intentional eating plans have thrown them out of balance…or would they need more even if they ate absolutely perfectly? The research does support these additional needs, but what the studies do NOT do, is provide women with healthy food for a period of time to discern whether those needs exist even when the diet has been brought back into balance. I suspect the needs would still be different, although not perhaps not quite as remarkable as they are when you're not eating well.

I thought, once a week, I'd introduce you to a vitamin or mineral and challenge you to see if you eat enough of it, regularly, over the course of the day.

Once you bring all of your vitamins and minerals back to baseline, then you can more accurately determine whether or not supplementation is going to work for you. If you want to check out how you're doing, check out http://www.fitday.com/, where you can enter all of your foods and check out how your own intake measures up to the recommendations for the vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin A
How do you do with the following foods?
liver carrots broccoli leaves (not the commonly eaten florets) sweet potatoes butter kale spinach pumpkin collard greens cantaloupe egg yolks
Keep this list handy over the next week and think of ways you can be sure you're getting enough vitamin A. Here are some suggestions.
1. If you make your own smoothies, be sure to throw a handful of leafy greens into them. Even if they're fruit flavored, a handful won't make a difference flavor-wise, but they'll make a huge difference nutrition-wise.
2. If you juice, which is the easiest way to get tons of vitamin A, be sure to balance all that carbohydrate with some protein. The biggest problem with juicing for people who tend to be insulin resistant is the huge carbohydrate load in comparison to the protein juice tends to not provide.
3. Always buy the darkest possible greens for your salad
4. Think kale chips, broccoli chips, etc. They're easy to make and tasty to munch on!
5. If that hour between arriving home and eating dinner is a problem, stock your refrigerator with baby carrots and hummous to snack on while you wait.
6. Try putting spinach leaves instead of plain lettuce on your sandwiches.
7. I'm a huge fan of omelets and frittatas. I never ate Swiss chard until I learned to put it into a frittata. It's also a great way to clean out the vegetable bin at the tail end of the week, it's a cheap dinner (it adds some eggs to your diet), and it's so easy on those nights when you come home exhausted and not wanting to think about anything complicated for dinner.
8. Boil up some eggs and keep them handy for snacks and to top salads with. We tend to be afraid of eggs because of the outdated information about cholesterol. They're actually quite healthy, quite convenient, and something that can make getting vitamin A…as well as protein…a little bit easier.
9. Still have an abundance of vegetables after eating the frittata? Why not make some soup! I have a slow cooker and it is the best appliance for making an easy dinner. A few minutes in the morning and I've got the house smelling great by late afternoon. If thinking about this in the morning while you're rushing out the door just isn't going to work…try putting everything in the slow cooker the night before and programming your smart phone to remind you to plug it in before you leave for work.
10. Stir fry! It's quick and it's easy. You can also buy chopped up vegetables if you want it to be even easier.
OK, let's do it! Let us know how you do with the challenge, or if you have new suggestions to add.

Not long ago I mentioned some research suggesting that vinegar consumed with a meal can help to reduce the glycemic index of that meal. I'm not big on drinking vinegar myself, so I've had my eyes open for tasty ways to make that interaction work for you in real life.

One great food to keep in mind is the Argentinian condiment chimichurri. I call it South American pesto, the big difference being that chimichurri is most often made with parsley instead of basil. That's ok, parsley is absolutely loaded with vitamin A and lots of other nutritional goodness we lose out on because we tend to think it is only useful as a garnish.

Here is a great recipe with some serving ideas. It's barbecue season so it's a great time to get friendly with this sauce! While the Argentinians are famous for their love of beef, this sauce is great on anything you wish to barbecue, such as the salmon in the photo.

As chimichurri becomes more popular in the United States, pre-prepared versions are becoming more common. I've even seen it on the shelves at Trader Joe's, both plain and as part of some of their packaged dishes.

The other day I stopped at a demo table at my neighborhood store and met the president of Magic Road International, a company devoted to importing Argentinian foods. She shared that they have a chimichurri sauce (Estancia Lucia) that they're working to bring to your table, made with great ingredients such as native Argentinian olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's become one of my favorite condiments because it's so tasty and versatile.

Be on the lookout and fire up that grill!