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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

Sablefish is rarely seen in standard fish markets, but this buttery, flaky, white fish boasts its own rich texture and mind-blowing flavor ... and even more omega-3s than wild Salmon!

In addition to our certified Earth Kosher Sablefish, we feature golden Oven-Ready Smoked Sablefish: scrumptious, steaks infused with delicate alder wood smoke flavor, which cook fully from frozen in just a few minutes.

Last week we reported on the disappointing outcome of a major clinical trial that was designed to test the heart-health effects of lowering diabetics’ blood sugar to normal levels.

(See “Diabetes Study Shock”.)

The 10,000-person study was designed to find the best way to reduce heart disease and heart attacks among long-term Type 2 diagnosed with heart disease, or with two or more other risk factors for heart disease (aside from diabetes).

It compared the outcomes of treatment strategies designed to improve one of three major risk factors for heart disease among diabetics:

1. Blood sugar levels.
2. Blood pressure levels.
3. Blood fat (triglyceride) levels.

The participants assigned to the blood-sugar-lowering part of the study were further divided into “radical” and “moderate” blood-sugar-lowering groups (our characterization).

Surprisingly, the diabetics placed on the radical sugar-lowering regimen suffered a higher death rate, compared with patients placed on the more moderate regimen, which reduced their blood sugar levels but left them above normal.

Many medical observers noted that stress related to the extreme blood-sugar-lowering regimen could account for the increased death rate.

The goal for the group placed on the radical sugar-lowering regimen was to cut their levels below 6 percent on a measure called hemoglobin A1c.

(The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with Type 2 diabetes keep their blood sugar below 7 percent, which reduces patients’ risk of blood-sugar-related damage to the eyes, kidney, and nervous system.)

However, some authors of the study now say that patients with heart disease or with several risk factors should aim for levels no lower than 7 percent, rather than the near-normal 6 percent level that was the target for the radical sugar-lowering regimen.

In light of the unexpected outcome of this study, let’s take a look at recent findings about two fish-borne nutrients – vitamin D and omega-3s (EPA and DHA) – in relation to diabetes.

Omega-3s in diabetes

As we’ve reported in the past, omega-3s exert effects similar to those of a major class of diabetes drugs, called glitizars, which act on cellular switches called PPARs, in ways that raise levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and lower blood fat (triglyceride) levels.

(See “Drug May Help Prevent Diabetes: Omega-3s Exert Comparable Effects”.)

Unlike glitizar drugs, omega-3s do not enhance insulin sensitivity, which is one goal of diabetes prevention and care. Nor are the omega-3s in fish oil proven to stabilize blood sugar levels.

Last month, the authors of a comprehensive review of the medical literature summarized what’s known about the effects of supplemental fish oil in diabetes:

“Omega-3 PUFA supplementation in type 2 diabetes lowers triglycerides and VLDL [“very bad”] cholesterol, but ...

We’re really not trying to make food-based fuels look bad. It’s just that new reports keep questioning the economic and environmental credibility of growing food crops like corn, soy, and sugarcane to make fuel.

Recently, official Swiss and British studies concluded that fuels made from corn, soy, or sugarcane constitute energy-inefficient alternatives that worsen both global warming and environmental destruction on the ground.

See “Corn-Based Fuel Fares Poorly in New Analysis”  “Biofuels' Downsides Prompt Europeans to Backpedal”

Those reports were largely ignored by the American media, but that’s changed with the release last week of two studies that confirmed their critical conclusions.

The US media paid more attention to the new studies, perhaps because both were published in the prestigious journal Science by researchers from American institutions: Princeton University, Woods Hole Research Center, Iowa State University the University of Minnesota and the Nature Conservancy.

In short, the US-based new studies find that making biofuels from most food crops cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels, if you include the processes required to produce ethanol from crops.

It had been assumed that the carbon released when land was cleared to plant crops for biofuel burned was balanced by the carbon absorbed as those crops grew.

But the process of turning plants into fuels involves emissions from refining and transport, among other things.

And one of the studies concluded that clearance of grassland releases 93 times the amount of greenhouse gas that would be saved by the fuel made annually on that land (Fargione J et al 2008).

Here’s how the authors summarized their papers’ conclusions:

• “Most prior studies have found that substituting biofuels for gasoline will reduce greenhouse gases because biofuels sequester carbon through the growth of the feedstock. These analyses have failed to count the carbon emissions that occur as farmers worldwide respond to higher prices and convert forest and grassland to new cropland to replace the grain (or cropland) diverted to biofuels.” (Searchinger T et al. 2008)
• “Using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and ...

“Metabolic syndrome” is the label researchers apply to a cluster of physical signs linked to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

One in three adult Americans has the signs of metabolic syndrome (MetS) – compared with one in seven Europeans – and obesity is the main risk factor.

In addition to sedentary lifestyles, it seems likely that the high-calorie, low-nutrient, low-fiber nature of the standard American diet – which promotes obesity – also causes the MetS cluster of risk factors.

Yet surprisingly, the role of diet in promoting metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been studied very much.

Prior studies support preventive effect of "prudent" diets
Early in this century, twin studies from England and Ireland linked so-called “prudent” diets –  that is, Mediterranean-style diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish – with reduced risk of MetS and one of its several signs, insulin resistance (Williams DE et al. 2000; Villegas R et al. 2004).

And a team of scientists from Harvard and Iran came to similar conclusions two years ago: “Higher intakes of fruit and vegetables are associated with a lower risk of the metabolic syndrome; the lower risk may be the result of lower CRP concentrations.” [CRP is a marker for inflammation and a risk factor for heart disease] (Esmaillzadeh A et al. 2006).

Their findings were ratified by a recent analysis of data from the Greek ATTICA study, whose results linked higher fish intake to lower inflammation. (Inflammation is one of the signs of MetS and it’s a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes; see “Fish Inhibits Heart-Attacking Inflammation”.)

Last year, the Greek researchers analyzed data from the ATTICA study and came to this conclusion: “A dietary pattern that includes cereals, fish, legumes, vegetables, and fruits was independently associated with reduced levels of clinical and biological markers linked to the metabolic syndrome, whereas meat and alcohol intake showed the opposite results.” (Panagiotakos DB et al. 2007)

And studies we covered suggest that fish, berries, and a shift in dietary fat might help deter MetS (see “Omega-3s May Fight Metabolic Syndrome”, “Tart Cherries Seen Suppressing Metabolic Syndrome”, and “Omega-6/Omega-3 Imbalance Pushes Heart/Diabetes Perils”).

New US study finds that American diet promotes MetS

A desire for data from the American context led researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of North Carolina to analyze data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, which involved 9,514 volunteers between 45 and 64 years old (Lutsey PL et al. 2008).

The participants completed a 66-part diet questionnaire, and were classified as eating a high-calorie “Western” (standard American) or prudent dietary pattern rich in whole plant foods and fish.

The researchers followed the subjects over nine years, during which 3,782 volunteers developed the MetS symptom cluster.

The results indicate that eating the Western dietary pattern increases the risk of MetS.

When the researchers adjusted the results to account for the participants’ intake of meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, refined grains, and whole grains, they linked greater consumption of fried foods, diet sodas, and meat to ...