Align’s E-Newsletter ~ August 2007 Issue
Welcome to August! I trust you are all enjoying the lovely weather we’ve been encountering this year, and finding a place to swim and cool off those days it’s been a little more than pleasantly warm. My summer, as I’m sure yours is too, is going so much faster than those indoor winter months. But I have been enjoying it – I’ve taken up new outdoor recreation-type activities; I’ve been to the Farmer’s Market every Saturday to pick up my weekly fresh, local, organic produce; and I’ve done some vacationing in BC. The local and organic food movement out west is so embraced by the citizens – community gardens, organic food boxes, and natural food stores on every block. It was refreshing to see in Kelowna that the ‘holistic lifestyle’ living that I so believe in is a reality. To me that shows the natural way of life we are working towards obtaining here in Ontario generally and Grey Bruce specifically is quite possible and sustainable not just for an individual, but for the community as a whole. It was very inspiring! So I’m hoping to pass some of that inspiration on to you this month with ways you can make a few more baby steps towards a healthy and environmentally sound lifestyle.
In this month’s newsletter you’ll find….
o News and Noteworthy – Upcoming events in our community and on the net.
o What’s up at Align – Potluck dates and recipes, and class info for the coming months.
o 1 Fish, 2 Fish – Red fish, blue fish? Fish good – omega 3 fats. Fish bad – mercury and other toxins. What’s a girl to do? So I’m debating the pros and cons of fish consumption.
o Align Recipe of the Month – All this fish talk is making me hungry! Salmon and Feta Burgers satisfy both the outdoors and the fish cravings at the same time.
News and Noteworthy
o The First Annual HAVE1.COM Summer Web Hunt Contest is in full swing. Similar to their Christmas contest, start at www.have1.com and follow the contest link on the left hand side. From there follow the links to answer questions based on local business’s websites. Over $4000 in prizes to be won (including a great one from me 
. Enter soon and often – contest runs until August 31.
o How many planets would it take to sustain living if everyone ate and acted like you? Determine your Ecological Footprint at www.earthday.net to see where you stand, and what little things you can do to reduce your impact on the planet.
o For those of you in search for the naturally sweetened dried cranberry – look no further than the Keady Farmer’s Market! Dried cranberries are favourites of mine in salad and oatmeal, but they are virtually all sweetened with sugar. Sorry I don’t know the vendor’s name, but the guy at the east end of the main aisle (almost at the north/south road that goes to Jackson) that always has the blueberries also has apple juice sweetened dried cranberries! And they are super tasty! Worth searching him out if you’re there.
Upcoming events you don’t want to miss!
I don’t want to overwhelm your summer schedule or make you think much about September yet, so I’ll keep it brief.
o Thanks to all that attended June’s Detox Potluck Club at Kinexions. Fun and food were had by all (even unsuspecting husbands!). If you were there and loved a specific recipe, I know have them posted at www.alignnutrition.com/recipes.php. I don’t have everyone’s contribution, so if you still have a recipe to pass along for sharing, please do so asap.
o Our next Detox Potluck Club will be held August 22 starting at 5:30. In case you weren’t able to attend last time, here’s the scoop. Make a healthy food contribution to dinner. Healthy is subjective – make something that is a healthier version of something traditional; that one step better than you’ve done before. We’re not there to judge – just to congratulate you on your efforts to choose healthy alternatives! Also bring a plate, cutlery, cup, lawn chair, and any exciting natural lifestyle news or items you have come across for sharing. Also please bring or submit electronically your recipe, and I will post them on-line for everyone to try at home. Location – the backyard at Kinexions – 970 3rd Ave West Owen Sound. Fee – $5 to cover incidentals. For more info or to rsvp email ange@alignnutrition.com or call 519-270-2794. See you all there!
o I’m just setting the schedule for workshops and cooking classes for the fall. Items in the works include Cooking with Root Vegetables, Savory Soups, and Nutrition 101. Along with Detox for Beginners, I’ll be offering a Nutritional Detox session, where we will follow a 2 week fall detox program based on detoxifying foods and herbs. A great next step to Detox for Beginners. If you are interested in one or more of these classes and you email me before I set the dates, I can take into consideration your availability, so act soon to fit me in to your busy autumn schedule!
o Group support is an awesome power. Having me in to speak or hold a workshop at your workplace will then also educate those with whom you spend most of your day, helping you to make better decisions. Good health is proven to increase productivity as well. Call now to book for the fall.
1 Fish, 2 Fish
I’m a big fan of eating fish – it’s a great source of omega 3 fatty acids (important in the prevention of heart disease, mood and hormonal imbalances, and cancer), an easier-to-digest form of animal protein, and I grew up on it so I love the taste. But there is so much controversy these days about the contaminants in our water and therefore seafood, it’s hard to know which way to lean. Great healthy nutrients but with extras like mercury, persistent chemicals, and dioxins, do the benefits outweigh the contaminants?
So what’s the problem with all these chemicals anyways? It’s all about something called bioaccumulation. We dump chemicals from sewage, industry, and fallout from air into water systems. We have for a long time, with the argument that ‘dilution is the solution to pollution’. This worked for a while, but the lifespan of some of these chemicals is longer than the planet, and we’re making our waterways into a toxic swimming pool – or fish pond.
These toxins behave in fish like they do in most other organisms; they either have to be processed or stored in fat, which happens more often than not. So algae and plankton swim around and drink up the toxins with their food. Small fish eat lots of these little guys; storing the toxins from all their food in their own fat. Bigger fish eat them, accumulating more toxins, and so on up the food chain. By the time you get to the big fish like shark and tuna, there are loads of chemicals build up in their system – hence bioaccumulation.
The general eating guideline for good health is two servings of fish weekly. But by picking the less toxic option of these two servings, we can increase the positive to negative ratio of our fish meal. There are guidelines set by places like the Environmental Working Group and The Green Guide which can help you to make better choices when choosing seafood. They rate fish as yes fish, sometimes fish, and no fish, in terms of their mercury content and over-fishing rates. See links below.
These guidelines are great for oceanic and typical American species, but clients have been asking me about eating fish caught locally. My initial thoughts were – if they were caught here they are at least upstream of our larger port cities, they will be fresh, and fished in a sustainable manner. Then I came across a link to a report on the state of the fish in the Great Lakes, and I learned something different. This report (Up to the Gills by Environmental Defense) analyses the Ministry of Environment’s Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish, and shows by species and size how many fish it is safe to eat in a month.
It’s based on 8 servings of fish a month; if a fish rates an 8/month rating – you can eat 8 servings of that fish. But if a fish rates 2/month, it’s got the toxic equivalent of 4 fish, so this should be taken into account in your monthly fish tally. So you could eat 1 serving or 2/month fish and 4 servings of 8/month fish. Sorry, it’s a bit confusing. Better to look at which fish in general are less toxic. For instance, if I was eating local fish from Georgian Bay, I could eat 8 servings of Rainbow Trout if they were less than 20 inches in length. Lake Trout would be 8 servings-safe if it was less than 14 inches; if it was 14-18 inches only 4 servings monthly would be safe, and over 18 inches the regular population could eat 2 servings a month. At that length, it is not recommended that children and child-bearing age women eat Lake Trout at all. Still confused? After all of that, all I need to remember is Rainbow are less contaminated than Lake Trout, and the smaller the better.
Do the benefits outweigh the risk? According to a report in JAMA, they still do (see link below). We still get such great health benefits it’s worth the risk of toxins. That being said, you can be in control by using the fish guides below. There is one that you can print out and keep in your wallet when shopping. If you are doing some type of a ‘detox’ or trying to conceive, take the time to do a little of your own research and determine what risks you are willing to take.
So after all this, I still personally recommend fish. Especially as an alternate to seven nights of red meat. Here’s some general rules to remember when selecting fish.
o Smaller, younger fish lower on the food chain, contain less toxins.
o Choose wild fish over farmed, as they eat their traditional diet, are not surrounded by disease, and do not live cooped in a pen.
o Choose fish like salmon, anchovies, and sardines for their high omega 3 content.
o Children and women of child-bearing age should be extra cautious of picking the right fish. Kids have a small body mass to deal with adult-size toxin levels. Pregnant woman can pass their toxic load on to their fetus – head the warnings about fish like tuna to reduce your exposure.
Find more information on these and other topics at http://www.alignnutrition.com/category/recipes/. Scroll down to the links defined by FISH and here you will find –
o Environmental Defence’s Great Lakes Fish Report – Up to the Gills
o 2007-2008 MOE’s Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish
o Environmental Working Group’s Fish Eating Guide and Tuna Calculator
o and an article from JAMA about the Pros and Cons of Eating Fish
Align Recipe of the Month
Salmon and Feta Burgers
All this talk of fish is making me hungry. Eat it for its excellent health benefits; just be careful of the kind and source you choose. Wild salmon is a good choice – not too big to have built up toxins but full of omega 3 fats.
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs salmon filet, boneless, skinless, and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh whole grain bread crumbs
½ cup goat’s feta, crumbled
¼ cup shallots or green onions, minced
1 tbsp honey or dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 egg
1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
To make fresh bread crumbs – put 2 slices of whole grain bread into food processor and pulse into fluffy soft crumbs. (If using dry or cracker crumbs, cut amount in half). Place salmon chunks in a food processor. Pulse on and off until salmon is chopped into very small pieces. (Or use a knife if mincing salmon by hand.) Transfer salmon to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well using your hands. Form mixture into 6 patties – about ¾ inch thick. Place patties on a large plate, cover, and refrigerated for 1 hour (to help hold their shape during cooking). Spray a large skillet or grill with olive oil and heat to medium-high heat. Add patties and cook for about 4 minutes per side, until salmon is cooked through. Be careful not to overcook and flip with caution. Serve on whole grain bun like a burger or on brown rice for a more formal meal. Makes 6.
Adapted from Janet and Greta Podleski, Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry!; 2005.
Nutritional Value of Select Ingredients
Salmon – This cold-water fish is high in omega 3 fatty acids, shown to be very beneficial in protecting against heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancers (breast, prostate, colon, and lung), asthma, depression, diabetes, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Choose wild over farmed for the highest benefit.
Goat Cheese – A great substitute for dairy cheeses, goat cheese less allergenic and is much easier for most people to digest. Cow’s have four stomachs whereas goats and humans both have only one. We digest in more of a similar manner, allowing for better tolerance and digestion of goat milk products.
Dill – This herb is a carminative – helping eliminate gas. It is also useful in supporting the liver in its detoxification duties, and has anticancer and antimicrobial effects.
Shallots – Because they are high in sulfur, shallots (a member of the onion family) help lower cholesterol, inhibit cancerous tumor growth, help manage diabetes, and are an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal food that are also a blood tonic. Eat them daily – raw or cooked.
Look for more recipes at http://www.alignnutrition.com/category/recipes/. I’m always looking for great healthy recipes – I’d love if you passed along your favourites!
Enjoy your day and your life!
Thanks for taking a minute out of your busy or relaxing day to make me a part of it. I hope that I am helping you discover that there are so many small do-able changes you can adopt to help with the health of your family and your planet. Remember that you are the only one in control of your health – so listen to your body and feed it accordingly.
Have a great rest of the summer and looking forward to seeing you in the fall. Or at the potluck August 22 – lots of good food that you really won’t want to miss out on!
Taking care of your health,
Ange
