Research Symposium and New Omega-6 Recs.

Yesterday was the Russell Klein Nutrition Research Symposium, an event our department organizes every year. The event is in memory of a cancer researcher/professor who actually died of cancer about 3 years ago and it is a chance for all the students to share their research with others.
Bad picture, I look shiny, but whatever:

Here is my poster, which discusses my research on the beliefs that predict whether registered dietitians with teach fresh vegetable food safety. Keep in mind, of course, this poster was printed on Tuesday, the day BEFORE I realized my statistics were wrong. I didn't re-make the poster because a) it costs $125 and b) the results on my poster were similar to my new results, just not as impressive and not as accurate. It was still good practice for my thesis presentation in August.

Our keynote speaker, Dr Dietz, specializes in childhood obesity. While I am somewhat sick of hearing about this topic (that sounds awful, but often times speakers just say the same thing..) Dr Dietz was super interesting and I really enjoyed his discussion. He currently works at the Center for Disease Control and is working on strategies to put into place throughout the US in order to combat the obesity epidemic. Many of his goals are oriented towards policy change, which is the first MAJOR step in really getting things done and making a profound difference in the number of obese children, and adults. Overall, the day was fabulous, and I even won a cookbook! Emily (of the Health Nut) won an amazing award for all of her hard work, which she clearly deserved.

BAKING
I made no-bake cookies for the dessert table at the symposium: "Buckeye" No Bake Cookies
I made them as healthy as possible:
2 cup sugar (I used 1 cup Splenda and 1 cup sugar)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened soymilk)
1/2 cup margarine (I used Smart Balance butter blend sticks)
1 t vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Smart Balance crunchy)
3 cups oats

On medium heat mix sugar, cocoa, milk, and margarine. Bring this to a boil, stirring occasionally, and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and then stir in vanilla, salt, PB, and oats. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper or foil. This recipe makes about 33 cookies.

Dinner at The Fish Market on Thursday Night
The night before the symposium we took the key note speaker, Dr. Dietz, out for dinner. I ordered the Cedar Plank Salmon:
Does it look good? Well it wasn't, it was GREAT! Ingredients: Summer squash, roasted vegetables, asparagus, portabella relish, goat cheese.
I ate every last bite, despite the fact that I was full about 3/4 into the dish. I didn't feel guilty either, it was amazing.

Which leads me to:
New Research Regarding Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Omega-6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids, like Omega-3 (found in my salmon), but they are not often discussed because most Americans have no trouble getting them. Why? They are found in vegetable oils (canola, soybean, peanut), which Americans have no trouble getting in their diets (think fries, and dressings). When I was in school we were sort of taught to look down on Omega-6's. While they are important in the diet, the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is supposed to be 4:1, while many Americans get a ratio of something closer to 12:1 or 17:1. The reason this ratio is important is because Omega-6s are linked to pro-inflammatory processes in the body, and have been linked to heart disease and other inflammation diseases.

New studies, however, have been showing an association with Omega-6 and LOWER cardiovascular disease risk, and improved blood lipids. Five studies were sighted, with specific results that associated higher percentages of Omega-6s to lower CVD risk, improved total-HDL cholesterol ratio (good cholesterol), and a reduction in LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

New recommendations: The American Dietetic Association and the Dietitians of Canada are now recommending that 5%-10% of your diet should be Omega-6s and .6% to 1.2% should be Omega-3s. The calculation comes out to be a ratio of about 8:1 (double the amount of omega-6s than previously thought). Keep in mind, the lower percentage is for those who eat less calories, while the higher percentage is for those who eat more.
SOURCE: Today's Dietitian

In-Season Vegetable and Fruit (Get them while they're fresh and cheap!)
June: Greens, Lettuce, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Zucchini!


Questions of the day: What do you think your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is? Do you think it's strange that they used to be so big on forcing the 4:1 ratio on us, and now they are all of a sudden changing their minds? In my opinion it makes me wonder what recommendations will be changed next! I guess that's just the beauty of nutrition science, it's always changing.