Wellfie Wednesday Tip #69: Omega-3s for Heart Health

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Happy Wellfie Wednesday! 

     Welcome back! This week is brought to you by Patrick ( @PBernerSPT ). These past few days I had the pleasure to spend time at the annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo #FNCE in Chicago, an amazing experience every year that I go, though as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic's 100th year, it was above and beyond. And I could go on and on about the things I learned and new connections that were made, but as you are our Wellfie Wednesday audience, I digress. 

     This week I do want to share though information from one of the presentations that I attended,  THE BEAT GOES ON: THE LATEST ON OMEGA-3 HEART HEALTH RESEARCH. I'm also going to share it in an unordinary fashion, by only showing you the handouts that were provided, which contain quite a bit of beneficial information, the last one being my favorite. Enjoy!

     Find a way to increase your Omega-3s and let us know how it goes! And thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members in your post (@PBernerSPT, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @AaronPerezPT, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

- WW Crew

 

Wellness Wednesday Tip #16: Keep Those Pumpkin Seeds & Reap Their Benefits!

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Happy Wellfie Wednesday Everyone!

     I hope you all are enjoying the fall season! For me, this is my first exposure to the leaves changing. As you would expect, some parts of the south are not known for having the four seasons, so it has been great to watch the foliage while currently living outside of Boston.

White mountains, New Hampshire, October 2016

White mountains, New Hampshire, October 2016

     So with fall in mind comes this week’s tip. Keep Those Pumpkin Seeds & Reap Their Benefits! With Halloween approaching, I’m sure most of you will spend some time carving pumpkins. My girlfriend and I carved one a few days ago, and by that I mean she carved it while I messed around with the seeds. A Google search gives you tons of different recipes and instructions on how to roast them, so it’s hard to say which is the best until you try them all. Here are a few links to check out.

AllRecipes

FoodNetwork

WholeFoods

     My biggest advice is to watch them carefully; I’ve learned that pumpkin seeds can burn rather easily.

     Why eat them you may ask. Here are some reasons:

     Roasted pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, magnesium, zinc, copper, potassium, manganese, iron, and antioxidants.(1) They are said to aid in heart and prostate health, provide immune system support, and reduce the risk of certain cancers. Keep in mind most of these claims are based on the nutritional components of pumpkin seeds; studies specifically looking at pumpkin seeds are limited.

     Keep those seeds and try them roasted! Let us know how it goes. And as always, thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures again this week and tag Eric (@Eric_in_AmERICa) or myself (@PBernerSPT) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

-       Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

-       Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

 

1. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3141/2