The 1-2-3's of Omega 3's (Hippocrates Institute of Health)

by Tom Fisher, RN, BA

 

From the Hippocrates Institute of Health

 

Alpha-linolenic (ALA) acid is a type of omega-3 fatty acid found in plants. It is similar to the omega-3 fatty acids in algal oil, called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Your body can change alpha-linolenic acid into EPA and DHA. Alpha-linolenic acid is also found in flaxseed oil, hemp oil, marine phytoplankton, AFA Algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae), chia seed and walnuts, to name a few sources. These are all good sources of this important nutrient.
Excellent Plant Sources for Omega-3s:

• Chia seed
• Hemp seed or oil
• Flax seed (ground) or oil
• Microalgae oil
• AFA Algae (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae)
• Marine phytoplankton
• Walnuts

Many people believe that fish is the best source of essential fatty acids, but the high amounts of fat and cholesterol, and the lack of fiber, make fish a poor choice. Also, high levels of mercury and other environmental toxins, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides and herbicides have often accumulated in the fish. Therefore, fish has no place in an optimal diet. Fish oil has only two percent EPA, and has highly unstable molecules that tend to decompose, unleashing dangerous free radicals.

One of the primary reasons for the presence of omega-3 fatty acids in fish is because they eat microalgae. By taking algal oil, you get the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA directly from the source, without the heavy metals and other environmental toxins present in fish.
Health issues associated with fatty acids are largely traced to modern dietary habits of low intake of vegetables, algal oil, nuts and seeds, and a high intake of processed and manufactured dietary fats.
Long-term restriction of essential fatty acids (EFAs) has been related to several disease conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Excess animal fats have been strongly correlated to increases in chronic diseases. Microalgae oil does not contain high levels of ALA but is very rich in DHA, providing 250 percent more DHA per unit than fish oil. This makes microalgae oil the finest source of these essential nutrients available because the oil has the optimum balance of DHA to EPA and your body puts it directly to work without the multi-step conversion processes of other Omega-3 forms.

According to the Department of Biosciences and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, in India, DHA-rich microalgae oil indicates as good a health-promoting effect as any other source.
The nervous system has a high fatty acid content. Lack of EFAs may contribute to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and seizure disorders.
The following are some of the functions of fatty acids:

• Provides structural support for the outer walls or membranes of the body’s cells
• Helps convert the nutrients from foods into usable forms of energy
• Assists in cell-to-cell communication
• Makes it possible for nutrients to pass from the blood through the cell walls
• Helps substances in the cells to pass into the blood
• Assists in manufacturing red blood cells
• Decreases inflammation
• Lowers triglycerides
• Makes blood less sticky
• Raises HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol)
• Decreases arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythm)
• Decreases blood pressure
• Enhances the action of insulin
• Helps protect against oxidation and ischemic heart disease
• Reduces PMS symptoms
• Assists mitochondrial function (energy-producing parts of the cells)

As one can clearly see, essential fatty acids help us in many ways. EPA is the parent of the 3-series eicosanoids that moderate the pro-inflammatory effects that are derived from arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid occurs in peanuts, meats and animal products. An entire generation of anti-inflammatory drugs, COX-2 (Cyclooxigenase-2) inhibitors, is based on blocking the synthesis of inflammatory eicosanoids. Adding good sources of EPA is a natural way of dealing with excessive inflammation.

EPA deficiencies have been associated with neurological conditions, arthritis, heart disease, cancer, accelerated aging and autoimmune disorders, presumably as a result of direct or indirect effects of inflammatory responses that may be modulated by raising EPA levels.1 – 4 Significant improvements were noted in ADHD, autism, developmental coordination disorder (DCD), learning disabilities, and poor cognitive abilities when they were supplemented with fatty acids, primarily EPA-DHA.5 – 14 An adequate intake of DHA and EPA is particularly important during pregnancy and lactation. During this time the mother must supply all the baby’s needs for DHA and EPA because it is unable to synthesize these essential fatty acids itself. DHA makes up 15 to 20 percent of the cerebral cortex and 30 to 60 percent of the retina so it is absolutely necessary for normal development of the fetus and baby.

Improving neonatal DHA status presents a critical challenge, since this fatty acid is required for brain development,15 and the overall maternal essential fatty acid status tends to decline steadily during pregnancy.

Pregnant women have lower levels of EPA and DHA and higher levels of palmitic acid, which is in palm oil, palm kernel oil and coconut oil.16 The transfer from red cell membrane to fetus may be a special mechanism for ensuring a fetal supply of EFA.

Mothers who eat the standard Western diet may be unable to meet the high fetal requirement for EFA.17 Meanwhile, the mother is more likely to experience postpartum depression related to degradation of EFA status.18 Recent studies suggest that women who eat a diet enriched in essential fatty acids during pregnancy and breast-feeding may enhance their baby’s language development, IQ and cognitive development.

In conclusion, algal oil and some other refined blends offer sustainable sources of high quality essential fatty acids. Microalgae allow a cost-effective supply of sustainable oil feedstock and offer many advantages over traditional oilseed crops such as corn, soybeans or rapeseed.
Algae yield far more oil than traditional oil seeds, as up to 50 percent of algae’s weight can be comprised of oil. Oil-palm trees — currently the largest producer of oil to make biofuels — yields approximately 20 percent of their weight in oil.

Algae grow up to 15 times faster than oilseed crops grown on land. Algae can be grown in marginal lands, in places away from the usual farmlands and in forests, thus minimizing potential stresses to our food chain and ecosystems.

Frequent harvesting diminishes the risk of crop failures in comparison to terrestrial plants. Algae can also reduce pollution by utilizing, via photosynthesis, large amounts of potentially harmful CO2, from industrial emissions, to grow rapidly. As one can clearly see, algae are a good and healthy source of essential fatty acids.

Stats

I have a problem with obsessively checking stats on my blog. There have now been 407 views since I started posting actively earlier in the week. 407 views and 3 followers...can I have more followers? I need more followers, can I have more now? How about now? What about......now? Ok...now? And............now? :-)

Spinach and their roots!

Nothing overwhelmingly interesting today, and no long drawn out posts either, mostly because I have two huge ones in the works plus the "Garden in July" post which will be in next week.

Today I picked all the spinach, steamed it lightly, and bagged it for the freezer just as I did with the beet greens. The spinach was gigantic (Vancouver variety from west coast seeds - zone 8) with thick stems and great big roots. When all was said and done we ended up with nearly 5lbs according to the kitchen scale, 5 lbs. of spinach wilts down to a pretty pathetic little pile, but it was enough to make 3 freezer bags full even after I cooked some for lunch.

Below is a picture of  a the spinach harvest, this was 1 of 2 big bowls.

Once all the spinach was packed away I went outside to clean up the stalks and roots and had an idea. As far as I knew the entire spinach plant was edible and the leftover stalks and roots were big and juicy, but were they also edible? I rushed back inside to Google it and came up with two things, one was that the roots were edible after being boiled and number two, they were bitter!

Of course I got excited because if an edible plant has a bitter root it probably means it is medicinal as a bitter (bitters react on the digestive tract and increase bile production to aid in the processing of nutrients and also stimulate/clean the liver). I had to try it, I bit into one after washing it and sure enough it was just a little less bitter than a dandelion root (dandelion root is probably one of the most bitter substances I have EVER tasted, supposedly bitter lettuce is worse - I will report if I ever get the courage to try it).

Below is a picture of some of my spinach stalks and roots.

I finished cleaning the roots of dirt and scraped off the external membrane. They all went into a pot where they simmered for 30 minutes (whole, I did not cut them). Afterward they were soft though fibrous and tasted like turnips! Waste not, want not I suppose, I was happy to try something new.

I seeded the next spinach crop and will try this again in roughly five weeks, this time I will use the raw root to see if a proper bitter tincture/decoction can be made from it.

Happy Spinaching!
- Nicey

The Great Culling! Or, how to thin and process your beets

Beets are deceiving. When you plant those easy to handle seeds and place them the proper 2 inches apart, you never really think they will sprout up, crowd out each-other, and attempt complete soil domination. Thus, like every iron clad ruler of complete domination, you must cull the masses!!!

The nice thing about beets is the fact that everything on it is edible, from the root to the tops, the beet offers some great simple sugars in the root and some much needed iron in the leaves, not to mention you can fill your leafy green quota quite easily.

Thinning the beets is a crucial step in getting those large globules of beety joy which we all love to eat in the late summer/early fall.

Once thinned you will have a plethora of beet tops and small rootlets to get through - so, what to do with them? Freeze them, baby!

The above photo is a what I pulled from my 4 rows of beets, creating two inches between each plant. Also, if there are plants seemingly growing from the same location, pull the smaller of the two (For only perfection shall be tolerated!).

 

The next step was to wash the beets and separate the roots from the stems. When beets are this young (roughly 6 weeks) not all of them will have an identifiable root. This is just fine, cut the wisp and keep the greens.

Next comes the giant pot. I filled this canning pot to the first line and let it come to a simmer, also added about 2 tbs. of salt to the water. While it was reaching a boil I cut my greens into pieces - I prefer larger chunks but whatever you feel like stuffing in your pie hole is the correct length.

I let the greens wilt for about 2 minutes and then removed them with a wire spoon, you can use a slotted spoon, or really any sort of scooper that lets the water drain.

Here are all my beet greens, wilted and cooling. Its a good idea to have something absorbent beneath them so you don't create a beet green ice cube in the freezer. Let the greens cool to room temperature then proceed to put your greens in a zip-lock or freezer container. Don't forget to label it with the month and date, discard if you have not eaten it within 6 months.

Now you know what to do with your beet thinnings.

Enjoy!
-Nicey



The Three (Four) Types of Common Planter Beds

I received a great question today on Facebook about types of garden beds. I was thrilled to be able to answer this and immediately started typing up a storm to answer the question when I thought that perhaps others would like to know the difference as well.

There are three common types of planter beds, these are:

• raised beds with no soil access
• raised beds with soil access
• the common earth mound

Raised Beds with No Ground Access:

These are the type of beds in my yard, they are literally off the ground and set on feet with a drainage system put in (more specifically, mine are very small slats with a layer of landscaping cloth followed by a layer of gravel, the gravel is in contact with the soil).

The pro to this is that I have full control over the soil intake which is important if you want to be certain that your veggies/herbs are totally organic. For example, I found a soil producer who makes their own organic soil from organic veggie compost and mushroom manure. If you are in the greater Vancouver area and want high quality organic and locally made top soil please contact Its About Thyme Nursery, the owners husband does all the soil deliveries.

The con to this is that you need a pretty good rig for watering since the air circulation around the planters will dry them out in a couple days ( I water mine on a timer every day at 4am for 40 minutes).

Raised Beds with Soil Access:

 



The next option is raised beds with soil access, this means that you have literally dug down into the ground and have created a pit to the dimensions of your planter and have framed out a support for the sides, building them up to the height you desire and then filling with your type of desired soil.

The pro to having raised beds with soil access is that once the plants are well established and a mulch has been placed on top, watering can be spaced out a bit better.

The con to these types of beds is in the soil itself. When we cut into the ground on our properties we don't necessarily know what is in our soil. Are there heavy metals, lead, or arsenic from old pipes? Is there remnants of asbestos from old buildings that were torn down? Was there ever an oil tank in the yard and did it leak? Your plants take their nutrients from the earth, and what is in the earth is literally fed to you - this is partially why I refuse to buy non-organic produce.

 

Common Soil Mound and Hugelkultur

 

 

I am sure the above picture looks pretty familiar to you, this is the most common type of planting and is the common soil mound. When gardening in soil mounds you cut down into the earth to the appropriate depth (generally 10 to 12 inches), turning the earth with a shovel and then mounding it into rows (this is the simplified version). Within the rows you plant your vegetables and herbs, cover with mulch, and water.

 

The pro to this is that the natural function of the soil will hold water well once the plants are established and the mulch is set on top. This is also the original way of planting crops and is a tried and trusted method. If you know what is in your soil, this is the perfect way to go an allows you to alter the size, shape, and even the location of your garden year after year.

 

The con to this is again in the nature of the soil, possible heavy metals, toxic contaminants, and petroleum products. I would not recommend this type of planting for those of us who live in the city.

 

 

Hugelkultur

 

 

Hugelkultur, go on, say it again..Huuuugelkultur. This is an ancient form of gardening and what I like to call (Never water a damn thing ever again). The nitty gritty of this planter is that it is a raised bed with minimal soil access. The general summary for building such a planter is to dig a ditch and fill it with scrap wood - cut up trees, stumps, branches, etc. You then pile this over with soil (organic if you can), water the holy begeez out of it, and plant your veggies, herbs, and fruit trees on top. Over time the wood in the center of the mound begins to absorb water and decompose. This creates a sponge in the center of the mound where plants can received water all year round. It takes 1 to 3 years to really establish a Hugelkultur mound, but once it starts decomposing there is no real need to water your plants.

 

The cons to this is it takes time, and also takes the finding, locating, and transporting of wood. However, this is a great alternative if you live on acreage and want a low commitment garden.

 

To learn more about the details of Hugelkulter, go see the experts.

 

 

Hope that explains the types of plant beds, happy gardening!

 

-Nicey :-)





The Garden in June - What to plant, what to harvest, and what to reseed

I know its late, this should have gone out at the beginning of June, but here it is now, better late than never!

When I first started gardening a few years back I quickly learned that it was not as simple as putting seeds or transplants in the soil. There is a rhythm to gardening, a time for everything, a time for harvest and reseeding, and a time for turning down the beds. 


During the months of June and July gardeners are insanely busy with harvesting the early spring plantings and putting in our fall crops, and impatiently waiting for our more luxurious veggies to finish growing such as the peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, and pole beans.

Looking at my planter boxes this morning, I got a real sense of satisfaction knowing that we are growing our own food, and have for the past couple months been eating salads and greens every day from our greenie box filled with butter lettuce, spinach, chard, and sweat peas.

Here is a photo of the boxes at this morning around 6:30am, they are exploding with growth!

 When gardening in zone eight (aka greater Vancouver), its key to understand that things will grow just a bit slower than everyone south of us. For example my peas did not fully come up until early June due to the cold and my lettuce and spinach are just now in their prime.


So what can be harvested in the month of June? I'm so glad you asked - lets take a look!



 The photo above is my green bed which is currently stuffed with chard, spinach, butter lettuce, and sweet peas, all of which are good for eating right out of the soil. When picking these you don't remove the plant, you simply snip off your leaves for your salad or dish and allow new ones to grow. One thing to take note of with spinach, it will go to seed if the weather gets hot so once you start seeing those flowering heads appear, harvest all of your spinach for the freezer and then replant (you will have another row in about a month), this can be done in the greater Vancouver area until about October. I am not certain if you can see it but there is a new row of lettuce coming in - as we had a bit of no grow incident with my Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce.

Herbs, fruits, and veggies that can be harvested in June

JUNE:

• Broad Beans
• Strawberries
• Asparagus
• Beetroot (if you planted in March)
• Broccoli
• Carrots (Plant in March)
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Peas
• Potatoes (Plant in March)
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Spinach
• Spring Onions (Plant in March)
• Swiss Chard
• Turnips
• Cauliflower
• Cherries
• Fennel
• Garlic (Planted the previous September)
• Glove Artichokes (These need a full calendar year in the ground)
• Gooseberries
• Kohl Rabi

What can be planted in June from starters? (This will be your late summer and early fall harvest)

• Tomatoes
• Brussels Sprouts and Cabbages (September harvest)
• Cauliflowers (September/October Harvest)
• Celeriac
• Celery
• Chicory
• Chilies and Sweet Peppers
• Pumpkins and Squashes
• Cucumbers
• Endive
• French beans and runner beans
• Kale
• Leeks
• Sweet potatoes
• Sweet Corn

What can be planted from seed in June (Again, these will be your late summer, and early/mid fall harvests)

• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Chicory
• Summer Squash
• Peas
• Cucumbers
• Endive
• Lettuce
• Chinese Greens
• Turnips
• French beans
• Herbs
• Kale
• Kohl Rabi
• Leaf Veggies
• Radishes
• Runner Beans
• Spring onions

So there you have it! We are now experts in the month of June :-) To close out the post, here are a few more photos of the garden in June.

The above picture is one of the hot beds (hence the giant artichokes), in addition we have calendula (medicinal herb), peppers, bush beans, nasturtium, and climbing beans.



The tomato bed is on the left, we also have basil and dill growing with them. To the right is the French bean box with a few more pepper plants and runner beans in the back.

The roots bed with onions, beets, parsnip, carrots, and some marigolds for good measure.

Hope you enjoyed reading, I'll try to keep up and put in a month by month guide for planting/harvesting.

Happy Monday!
- Nicey

What does a Medical Herbalist do?

When family and friends find out I am currently studying to be a Medical Herbalist (Practitioner of Herbal Medicine) I often receive vacant smiles followed by a "that's sweet" or "that's nice" with a pause and then the final question "What does a Medical Herbalist do?" I have received this question so many times that I  feel an explanation is overdue.

First, let me tell you what I don't do. I don't distribute marijuana, I don't work with crystals, I don't talk to spirits or your dear aunt Melva, I don't hug trees while practicing primal screaming while naked in old growth forests, and I don't talk to mushrooms psychically (you know who you are).

So, what exactly does a medical herbalist do? Medical herbalists are specialists in plant based medicines, not only do we know what herbs are needed for various illness, but we also know how to identify the healing plants, harvest, and make medicines from the raw materials. Medical herbalists are health care providers who are trained in Western orthodox medical diagnosis and use the aforementioned medicinal plants to treat their patients. Medical Herbalism is a four year degree, with an additional two years if you would like to be a doctor of Natural Medicine (which I plan to do). As herbalists we study Anatomy and Physiology, Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Biochemistry, Botany, Nutrition, Materia Medica, Psychology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Practice, Lab Tests and Diagnosis, and a host of other things. In addition we are required to have thousands of clinical hours before we are able to graduate and set out on our own.

So, what sets a Medical herbalist apart from other natural healers? As I mentioned in the beginning, Medical Herbalists are specialists in plant based medicine, this means a very specific thing, we are trained in the pharmaceutical makeup of plants, we learn their constituents (the primary chemicals which make up a plant) and apply the various constituents in patient care - meaning we have an in depth knowledge of how herbs metabolize in the body and also know what plants interact with various pharmaceutical drugs and even how they interact with daily nutrition. This means that our medicines are unique and are dispensed on a case by case basis, with consideration to the whole person including their various chemical intakes (traditional or alternative). 

So, what can we treat? A good herbalist will understand the process of disease and will have an experts understanding of how various diseases effect the body. With that knowledge we can better understand what constituents to apply in treatment. Does the patient have chronic fatigue? We will know (for example) that many cases of chronic fatigue start with issues in the liver, thus a liver cleanse and bitters can be prescribed. If for example a patient is seen with diabetes, an herbalist will known which herbs balance blood sugar levels and which herbs are best used to manage pancreatic distress. Generally herbalists are very successful in the treatment of things such as issues with the immune system, allergies, autoimmune conditions, fatigue syndrome, emotional and hormonal health, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth (herbs to make an easier delivery) , digestion and nutritional deficiencies, skin, heart and circulation, bones and joints. There are also many herbalists who specialize in the treatment of more serious illnesses such as emphysema, heart disease, cancer, and even HIV and AIDS (If you need help in finding an herbalist specializing in serious illness please feel free to contact me OR Google the works of Dr. Hulda Clark, or look up Donna Roth)

Is Herbalism a new form of medicine? The simple answer is a BIG resounding "NO". Medical herbalism has a written history of over five thousand years with materia medica texts dating back to some of the first civilizations. Man kind has used herbal medicine with great success (we are still here after-all) for tens of thousands of years. Herbalism was modern medicine before "Medicine" as we know it - I like to think of it as traditional medicine in which we become fully aware of the cyclic nature of healing.

Does it work? Yes, it works. It works in a manner that is harmonious with our bodies, lacking the side effects of processed drugs (though  processed pharmaceuticals have their time and place). Herbal medicine is not as simple as popping a pill and forgetting about your illness, herbal medicine is not about treating the symptom of disease but rather the cause of the disease, it is medicine for the whole body.

Now you know a bit more about herbal medicine and I feel like I was able to a summarize what I am currently studying.

I will be taking patients in 2017, schedule now :-P