We’ve got some Dried Wild Organic Blueberries that are mighty delicious, but approaching their sell-by date.

They're terrifically tasty, but we can’t keep ‘em too much longer … and you can benefit from our dilemma!

Here’s the deal: You'll get a FREE 10 oz bag of Wild Organic Blueberries  – an $18 value – with any order that totals $120.00 or more. (And like all orders of $99 or more, it will ship Free.)

Just fill your cart with Vital Choice products worth $120 or more, and enter the Gift Code FREEBLUE.

You’ll receive a bag of Wild Organic Blueberries with your order, at no charge. To read more about them, click here.)

The offer is over when these naturally sweet treats run out, so don't wait!

Earn rewards with our popular HealthWise “frequent shopper” rewards program … the more you spend, the more you get back!

Now, you can enroll anytime, and as always, it’s free!

To see how it works, click HERE.

Our wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon offers special appeal to those—like many of us here at Vital Choice—who like their wild salmon firm and flavorful.

These sustainably harvested fish are a super-healthy source of protein, rich in long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids, and potent natural antioxidants.

And sockeye is a nearly unrivalled food source of bone-saving, cancer-curbing vitamin D, with a whopping 1,100 IU per 6-oz serving, or nearly triple the US RDA.

Our flash-frozen portions come vacuum-sealed for superior quality and convenience. Certified Kosher by EarthK

Vital Choice fresh-frozen organic blueberries, strawberries and red raspberries are rich in anti-aging antioxidants, and draw customer comments like this:
"OH MY GOODNESS! I cannot believe the flavor ... the taste reminds me of something from my childhood. Thanks for a great product!"

Berries are incredibly healthful foods, and it's smart to seek out organic berries, grown without synthetic pesticides.

Our organic berries come in convenient one pound bags, each yielding about 3-1/2 cups. They freeze well, so you can keep plenty on hand!

Two weeks ago, we reported on an article in Cooking Light magazine that misled consumers about the relative purity of farmed and wild salmon. (Wild Salmon definitely represents the pinnacle of purity: see “Salmon Safety Report Confuses Consumers”.)

In our response, we cited the substantial evidence that farmed Salmon are much higher in manmade pollutants (PCBs and dioxins).

(We didn’t even mention other purity problems with farmed Salmon, such as the use of antibiotics and pesticides, or negative environmental impacts such as sea lice, farm escapes, and degradation of the areas surrounding salmon farms. For more information on these issues, search our newsletter archives for “farm”.)

Key Points Study finds a majority of “wild” Salmon was farm-raised. Findings affirm that wild Salmon possess superior fat profiles, compared with farmed fish. Farmed Salmon are being fed increasing proportions of vegetable oil, which raises the proportion of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats in the fish.

Now, a new study affirms prior findings that – in addition to superior purity – wild Salmon offer strong nutritional advantages and a reputation for superiority that leads many marketers to mislabel farmed Salmon as wild.

The fat-profile pitfalls of farmed Salmon: a primer

Both wild and farmed Salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids, but clinical tests indicate that the benefits of the omega-3s in farmed Salmon are substantially offset by their unnaturally high omega-6 content.

Most farmed Salmon are fed very high-fat diets, so they’ll grow to harvest size quickly.

These diets often include mixtures of grains, vegetable oils, fish meal, and fish oil, which are far from natural for Salmon in the wild.

As a result of these diets, and lack of exercise compared with wild Salmon, farmed Salmon contain much more total fat than most wild Salmon.

Cholesterol has been in the news recently, thanks to negative publicity surrounding a cholesterol-lowering drug called Zetia, which is half of the combination cholesterol drug Vytorin.

NOTE: In our article on the news, we misstated the evidence regarding Zocor (simivistatin): the drug that is Zetia's companion in Vytorin (see “Major Heart and Mood Drugs Take Huge Credibility Hits”). 

Contrary to what we wrote, there is clinical evidence that Zocor (unlike Zetia) can reduce the risk of heart attacks and other adverse cardiac events. We relied on a statement in USA Today, and should have checked its accuracy.

That said, let's move on to the subject of today's article about cholesterol.

Cholesterol: The essential, inaccurately demonized compound

Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver, and many people do not realize that this waxy substance is essential for a wide range of normal body functions, or that dietary cholesterol has little influence on levels of cholesterol in the blood or the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Key Points Clinical trial links higher cholesterol levels and intake to greater strength gains in response to resistance exercise. Study also finds that people taking statin drugs enjoyed greater muscle gains. Cholesterol is an essential component of many key body structures and functions, and driving levels too low can lead to depression, anxiety, and other problems.

In fact, blood cholesterol levels below 160 mg/deciliter – the level now sought for heart patients with high cholesterol levels – are associated with increased risk of depression, anxiety, respiratory illness, and stroke.

(Given the wide variations in human physiology, one wonders whether the risks of lowierng cholesterol to this rock-bottom level outweigh the cardiac rewards.)
 

The body regulates cholesterol levels in response to its own complex, little-understood needs. In this context, cholesterol-lowering drugs constitute blunt instruments against CVD: tools that may have unknown long-term impacts.

These are the roles that cholesterol is known to play in the body, with others no doubt remaining to be discovered:

• Cholesterol is the precursor to bile acid, vitamin D and all steroid hormones, which are essential to physical performance, regulating blood sugar, controlling blood pressure, regulating mineral balance, maintaining libido, building muscle mass, and more.
• Cholesterol is an essential component of all cell membranes, where it regulates their fluidity, preventing them from becoming both too rigid or fluid.
• Cholesterol is a primary component of cellular “lipid rafts”, and in this role, it facilitates a key bodily process called “cell signaling”. Among other functions, cholesterol-mediated cell-signaling enables neurons (brain cells) to find each other when forming synapses critical to learning and memory.
• Cholesterol helps guide the connecting parts of neurons to the right places, and is necessary for their ability to grow.

High cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart attacks and other adverse heart events, and the clinical evidence shows that some cholesterol-lowering statin-type drugs reduce heart attacks and deaths.

However, the hypothesis that high cholesterol levels cause cardiovascular disease and related deaths is increasingly questioned. As the author of one evidence review wrote, “The evidence establishes that the lipid hypothesis of atherosclerosis lacks scientific basis.” (Stehbens WE 2001)

In fact, some population groups with high cholesterol levels and high intakes of saturated fat – such as the French – enjoy low rates of heart disease.

Evidence that omega-3s and vitamin D may play helpful roles in type 2 (adult onset) diabetes continues to mount. For more on these topics, search our newsletter archive for “diabetes”.

Evidence also continues to accumulate that the shortage of omega-3s – and excess of omega-6s – in Western diets exacerbates the growing epidemic of metabolic syndrome and its twin spawn: heart disease and diabetes.

The results of a small clinical trial from France lend weight to the hypothesis that diets high in omega-3s may help deter or ameliorate diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Belly fat and diabetes risk: A case of apples versus pears

Compared with pear-shaped people – whose fat is centered on the hips and thighs – apple-shaped people with body fat centered on the abdomen are at greater risk of metabolic syndrome, heart disease and diabetes.

This appears to be a function of the fact that fat cells (adipocytes) in the abdomen possess properties different from adipocytes found in the lower body.

For one thing, abdominal adipocytes generate pro-inflammatory chemicals associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, heart disease and diabetes.

The results of a clinical trial from France add to the good news, and are most welcome, given the need for nutritional tactics to deter metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.

French trial shows belly fat loss from fish oil

Last month, researchers from INSERM – France’s counterpart to the US National Institutes of Health – published the results of a small, controlled clinical trial designed to test the effects of fish oil (Kabir M et al. 2007).

They recruited 27 women with diabetes and randomly assigned them to receive either fish oil (providing 1.8 grams of omega-3s per day) or a placebo (paraffin oil) for two months. 

At the end of the study, the women in the omega-3 showed significant reductions in their total fat mass and the diameter of the fat cells beneath the surface of their abdominal skin.

No such benefits were detected in the placebo group.

In addition, the omega-3 group showed reduced blood fat (triglyceride) levels and a lower ratio of triglycerides to HDL (“good”) cholesterol: changes that reduce the risk ...

Today’s recipe presents Salmon marinated in a delectable maple syrup, mint and lime marinade.

Served with arugula (rocket) pesto on the side, this makes a mouth-watering main dish.

Try serving the Salmon with a chicory and cucumber salad

Broiled/Grilled Maple Salmon with Arugula (Rocket) Pesto

Preparation time is less then 30 minutes.

Serves 4

For the Salmon
4 (6 oz each) wild Alaskan Salmon portions

Sea salt and organic black pepper

1 Tbsp maple syrup or light honey

1 Tbsp fresh chopped mint

Juice of 1/2 lime

Pesto instructions

Put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and process into a paste.

1 large handful arugula (rocket) leaves

¼ cup cilantro or mint leaves (optional)

Organic extra virgin olive or macadamia nut oil

2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

1 Tbsp pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

Put the pesto in a bowl and serve alongside the Salmon.
 

• In a shallow dish, combine salt, pepper, syrup or honey, mint, and the lime juice. Add the Salmon and marinate for 15 minutes.
• Pre-heat the broiler or grill. Remove Salmon from marinade, allowing excess to drip off, and cook for 6-8 minutes, turning once halfway through. Brush the Salmon occasionally with the marinade.
• Spoon the pesto over the Salmon as desired.