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

If you haven't tried our Wild Red Sockeye Salmon you're in for a treat, because it tastes much fresher and firmer than standard supermarket brands.

The rich, red color of the meat and oil is unlike any you're likely to have had before. And minimal processing ensures that you'll get the maximum amount of nutrients naturally abundant in Sockeye Salmon: omega-3s, vitamin D, and astaxanthin (a potent orange-red antioxidant pigment).

Choose Skinless-Boneless Wild Red, or Traditional Style with skin and soft edible bones for extra flavor and ample calcium.

Both kinds are available with or without added salt ... and several varieties come in EZ-Open pull-tab tops.

“You are providing a wonderful health-giving service to the planet with your business. And it is a pleasure to bring this information to my audience. It is also a pleasure to snap open these little cans of salmon and have an instant healthy meal!”

-- Dr. Christiane Northrup

At first glance, we were puzzled by the headline on a press release critical of “omega-fortified” infant formulas, which contain added omega-3 DHA and omega-6 ARA.

The headline reads: “Infant Formula Manufacturers Again under Ethical Cloud: ‘Marketing Gimmick’ Linked to Serious Illnesses”.

DHA is the dominant fatty acid in human brain and retina cells, and one of the two key omega-3s in fish and fish oil.

Omega-6 ARA is also essential to brain cells, and to child development. But, unlike DHA and its plant-derived precursors, ARA and its precursors are abundant in the American diet.

(DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid and ARA is the acronym for arachidonic

Key Points Natural omega-3s from fish and fish oil are safe and beneficial for mothers, fetuses, and infants. Advertising for “omega-fortified” infant formulas, which contain omega-3 DHA and omega-6 ARA, may lead women to forgo breast feeding. Formulas fortified with specific omega-3/omega-6 supplements may induce diarrhea and other ailments in some infants, according to FDA files. Critics blame omega-fortified formulas that contain ingredients not found in breast milk.

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Six years ago this month, Mead Johnson® Nutritionals launched the first infant formula (Enfamil LIPIL™) fortified with omega-3 DHA and omega-6 ARA.

At the time, omega-fortified formulas were already available in more than 60 countries, including the United Kingdom, and the UN’s World Health Organization recommended the addition of these nutrients to infant formula.

Animal studies show the importance of DHA in eye and brain development, and DHA and ARA accumulate rapidly in children’s brains during their first postnatal year.

In addition, the results of epidemiologic studies suggest that breastfed children enjoy enhanced intellectual development in comparison with infants fed traditional formulas lacking DHA and ARA.

Finally, the hypothesis that omega-3-fortified diets could enhance child development has received strong support from studies involving children given fish oil: especially children with developmental difficulties.

Mothers can and do make omega-3 DHA and omega-6 ARA from other omega-3 and omega-6 fats in their diets, and pass them on to their fetuses and nursing infants.

But the average American diet is very low in omega-3s, so many pediatric researchers have advocated for adding omega-3 DHA to formulas.

Together, these facts have led researchers to conduct clinical trials designed to see whether omega-fortified infant formulas would enhance visual and cognitive development.

 

Omega-3s for mothers, infants, and children Here is what widely respected pediatrician William Sears, M.D., told us in response to our question about the proper intake of omega-3s by mothers and children.   “... experts attending a 2005 workshop recommended at least 300 mg [of omega-3s] a day for pregnant and nursing mothers (most mothers get only 20-25% of this amount, unless they take omega-3 fish oil supplements). In our medical practice we have mothers take at least 500 mg of DHA per day during pregnancy and lactation.”   “The recommendation for infants is at least 200mg of DHA per day, which is the dosage added to infant formulas." “Practically speaking, infants under one year old receive their omega-3s through mother's milk or fortified formula, but it is perfectly safe and perhaps even beneficial for infants to be given extra Vital Choice fish oil at a dose of around 300 mg a day* of DHA. I stress DHA rather than EPA because DHA is the main brain growth omega 3.”   *NOTE: There are as yet no official omega-3 intake recommendations for children over two years of age, so please consult your pediatrician. A dose of 300 mg of DHA would be provided by 8 of our 500 mg Salmon Oil capsules, 4 of our 1000 mg capsules, or 1 teaspoon of our Liquid Salmon Oil.

Evidence favors omega-3-rich infant diets

The results of research testing the effects of omega-fortified infant formulas have been mixed, but generally favor addition of DHA and ARA to infant formula, to ensure adequate intake of these nutrients, and optimal child development (Auestad N et al. 2003).

Most studies in pre-term (premature) infants fed omega-fortified formulas show improved visual development in these children.

But only about half of all studies in full-term infants fed omega-fortified formulas show improved visual and cognitive development, versus infants fed regular formula.

However, the clinical studies that did not show any developmental benefits generally used omega-fortified formulas that contained less DHA and ARA than Enfamil LIPIL™ and competing omega-fortified formulas provide, which approximate the worldwide average DHA/ARA content of human breast milk.

Last year, researchers from the Retina Foundation of the Southwest published the results of a study – funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health – designed to compare the visual acuity and IQs of children who had been fed only omega-fortified infant formula (Enfamil LIPIL™) for the first 17 weeks of life, versus breast-fed peers.

At age four, the children fed only on the omega-fortified formula had visual and IQ outcomes equal to their breastfed-peers (Birch EE et al. 2007).

These positive results fit with what’s known about infants’ need for ample amounts of DHA and ARA … but they may overshadow concerns about the form in which infants receive these essential developmental nutrients.

Noting that research results have been inconsistent, the Canadian authors of a 2005 review of the clinical evidence still came to a conclusion that favors supplemental DHA and ARA for pregnant mothers and for ...

Cranberry juice enjoys considerable evidence as a remedy for relieving urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women.

And the results of a clinical trial, published earlier this month, prove what always seemed likely ... that the benefits of cranberries are not limited to the juice, and likely extend to whole cranberries and cranberry extracts.

Researchers at the Université de Montpellier in Nîmes, France tested the effects of cranberry extract capsules in women suffering from urinary tract infections by E. coli, and found that they worked well, as does cranberry juice (Lavigne JP et al. 2008).
 

But there is much more to the vibrant, tart red berry. 

Over the past two decades, Professor Itzhak Ofek of Tel Aviv University has published bountiful research on the tart berry, and his findings indicate that its apparent benefits extend beyond the power to combat UTIs.

Professor Ofek’s team discovered that a compound in cranberry fights the flu, helps prevent cavities, and lessens the re-occurrence of gastric ulcers.

Key Points Cranberries contain a polyphenol compound that keeps disease bacteria from adhering to human tissues. Studies show cranberry juice inhibits urinary tract infections, ulcers, tooth decay, and flu. Benefits accrue mostly to women, for unknown reasons. The evidence comes from studies using cranberry juice, but the active constituent occurs in intact berries. Blueberries display similar properties, but have not been studied as extensively.

The cranberry juice company Ocean Spray funded most of Professor Ofek’s early research and his later research on ulcers, but these papers were published in respected, peer-reviewed journals, and stand up to scrutiny.

Cranberry contains “bacterial Teflon”

The remarkable anti-microbial properties of cranberries come from a molecule known as non-dialyzable material or NDM, isolated by Prof. Ofek and his colleagues.

NDM coats some bodily surfaces Teflon-style, and thereby prevents some infectious microbes from getting a foothold from which to invade organs.

As his team wrote at the turn of the last century, “The majority of infectious diseases are initiated by the adhesion of pathogenic organisms to the tissues of the host. Soluble carbohydrates … block the adhesion of the bacteria …
“Agents other than carbohydrates also block adhesion, as demonstrated with cranberry juice as well as with low and high molecular weight preparations isolated from the juice.” (Burger O et al. 2000)

Yet, NDM has no effect on most of the beneficial bacteria in our bodies, as Dr. Ofek and his colleagues reported in the New England Journal of Medicine more than 15 years ago (Ofek I et al. 1991).

Cranberry juice as tart mouthwash

After discovering the anti-microbial effects of NDM, Dr. Ofek hypothesized that if cranberries could protect against bacterial invasion in the bladder, they might work similar wonders elsewhere.

He took the challenge to Tel Aviv University’s School of Dental Medicine, and together with Professor Ervin Weiss, found that NDM inhibits adhesion of oral bacteria to tooth surfaces and reduces the bacterial load that causes cavities in the mouth (Steinberg D et al. 2004 and 2005).

After a clinical trial, they formulated a mouthwash based on cranberries.

And in 2006, researchers at Université Laval in Québec, Canada discovered that NDM reduces the damaging inflammation induced by the bacteria behind periodontal (inflamed gums) disease.

As they wrote, “This suggests that cranberry constituents [NDM] may offer perspectives for the development of a new therapeutic approach to the prevention and treatment of periodontitis.” (Bodet C et al. 2006)

Of course for dental use, one should use unsweetened cranberry juice, or chew on the berries themselves.

Cranberry as flu fighter

Working with Dr. Weiss and Dr. Zichria Zakay-Rones at Hadassah Medical and Dental School, Dr. Ofek also found that NDM keeps the flu virus from attaching to cells and prevented experimental flu infections in animal models.

This research paralleled studies on elderberry, which proved that extracts of that berry prevent the flu virus from entering cells … those findings proved of practical anti-flu benefit in two small clinical trials conducted by Dr. Zakay-Rones (Zakay-Rones Z et al. 1995 and 2008).

The resulting elderberry extract is called Sambucol, after the Latin name for elderberry (Sambuca nigra). This specific extract is patented by Turkish virologist Madeleine Mumcuoglu, PhD, who discovered the anti-flu properties of elderberry.

Cranberry as ulcer under-miner

Most recently, Prof. Ofek collaborated with Dr. Haim Shmuely, of Beilinson Hospital and Tel Aviv University to find that cranberry also inhibits two-thirds of the pathogenic bacteria that clings to gastric cells and lead to ulcers, called Helicobacter pylori (Shmuely H et al. 2007).

Cranberry helped reduce the load of H. pylori in the gut, and in combination with antibiotics, it reduced repeat ulcers from approximately 15 percent to about five percent.

But, in a gender-specific oddity of human biology, the results suggest that, as with urinary tract infections, the ulcer-preventing power of cranberries applies only to women.

Today, a cranberry research team comprised of scientists from across Israel, and headed by Professors Ofek and Weiss, is investigating ...

Today’s recipe combines wild Alaskan fish – Salmon or Halibut – with a side dish of lentils and spinach.

Lentils don't need pre-soaking, and rank among the healthiest and most versatile “starch” foods for myriad meals.

Actually, “starch” is a misleading way to describe lentils. These delightful little bean-cousins are low in digestible (i.e., fattening) carbohydrates, but rich in fiber, antioxidants, and “resistant” starch, which stabilizes blood sugar levels and keeps them that way for almost a full day after being consumed.

These strong nutritional attributes would explain why diets rich in legumes such as beans and lentils are associated with radically reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes. (See our article “Beans and Lentils May Deter Diabetes”.)

Use regular brown or green lentils, or the French du Puy lentils many diners prefer for the special legume’s peppery notes and firm, toothsome texture.

Salmon or Halibut with Almond Herb Crust

Adapted from Country Home magazine, February 2008.

Makes 2 servings

1 recipe Lentils and Spinach (optional, see recipe below)

2 (6 oz each) wild Alaskan Salmon or Halibut fillets

3 tablespoons organic raw almonds

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive or macadamia nut oil
2 tablespoons fine dry whole grain bread crumbs

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons fresh basil and/or flat-leaf ...