HIMPower Magazine HimPower October 2018 | Page 13

are always conflicting reports about what is healthy and what is not, and it can be tempting to just give up and eat for conve- nience and comfort. But there is a better way. Instead, you can be smart about the kinds of foods you eat – foods that taste delicious, make satis- fying additions to your meals, and provide amazing beneficial nutrients. In fact, many of the foods you may already enjoy are truly nature’s pharmacies. As Hippocrates said over 2,000 years ago, “Let y our food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food”. It was good advice then, and remains so today. To start off, I can guarantee you that these foods will make you healthier and feel much better. And you may be happily surprised by some of my choices. So in this Terry Talks Nutrition®, we’re going to look at my favorites and what makes them ideal choices. Consider this your detailed shopping list, and bring your appetite! 1. COLD WATER FISH Cold water fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring and cod) is one of the healthiest things you can eat. These fish are a rich source of essential omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA (eicosapentaenoic) and DHA, (docosahexaenoic). The benefits of omega-3s are outstanding: they keep your heart healthy, relieve pain through anti-in- flammatory action, enhance immunity, elevate mood, and alleviate the symptoms of ADHD, diabetes, skin diseases, menstrual pain, and more. In fact, one of the most important uses of DHA is the promotion of brain and vision development in infants and children, and omega-3 fatty acids are vital for fetal brain development during preg- nancy. Omega-3s are important for brain health in adults as well. In fact, researchers have found that eating baked or broiled fish (not deep fried!) at least once a week reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s by 5 times! Cold water fish is also considered ‘heart friendly’. When rates of heart attack are compared between those who rarely eat fish, to those dining on it just 1 to 3 times a month, the individuals enjoying a fish dinner now and then still saw a reduced risk of heart attack greater than 20%. For all these reasons, I encourage everyone to add fish to their diet! If you just don’t like fish, you can still boost your omega-3 intake. That may lead one to think about fish oil as an alternative. However, fish oils have many disadvantages. They are highly refined and processed making them unstable and highly susceptible to www.himpowermagazine.com  13